Rowenhorst, Marlys M (Mrs. Willard Dean) 1936-2019

ROWENHORST, DEBOER, BOLKS

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:38

Mrs. Marlys Rowenhorst, age 83, of Orange City, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 21, 2019, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

There will be a memorial service on Wednesday, September 25, at 11:00am, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. Mark Haverdink will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. There will be a family prayer service on Wednesday, at 9:30am, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Visitation with the family will be on Tuesday, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the funeral home.

Marlys Mae was born on July 7, 1936, in Hull, the daughter of Harold and Augusta (De Boer) Bolks. She was raised in Hull, where she spoke fondly of days spent with her cousins and neighbors. She excelled in cheerleading and ice skating and graduated from Hull Public High School.

She was united in marriage to Willard Dean Rowenhorst on July 16, 1954. They spent most of their first two years of marriage living in Darmstadt, Germany, where Willard was stationed with the United States Army. While there, they developed treasured life-long friendships, and Marlys’ dream of ice skating on Olympic ice in Garmisch, Germany, came true.

Following Willard’s discharge from the service, they lived in Sioux City for three years, and then made their home in Orange City in 1959. There they were active members of the First Reformed Church.

Marlys was an excellent seamstress and enjoyed sewing many clothes for her daughters and herself. She also used her talents to sew the Queen’s Dutch costumes and hats while serving on the Tulip Court Committee. This sparked her interest in the authentic Dutch costumes of the Netherlands and thus began her research and patternmaking. She was instrumental in getting the authentic Dutch costume project off the ground. She also served on the costume committee for several Tulip Festival Night Shows and was the creator of the costumes for “Camelot”, using the Town Hall’s red velvet stage curtains for Guinevere’s gown.

Mrs. Rowenhorst began her career as a travel agent for Klay Travel. In 1980, she established Siouxland Travel Bureau, where she relished in providing the best travel experience for the best price. Her knowledge of international travel was helpful to many people travelling to faraway destinations around the world. Over the years, Marlys especially enjoyed taking group tours to Alaska and Hawaii, wishing to share the beauty of these destinations with everyone. Marlys and Willard also took their family to Alaska for their 50th wedding anniversary, a trip her children and grandchildren will never forget.

In 2005, Marlys retired from the travel office due to complications of Parkinson’s Disease. Her husband, Willard, passed away on August 22, 2010, after 56 years of marriage. She then lived at the Landsmeer Ridge Retirement Community until she became a resident of the Prairie Ridge Care Center in 2015.

Survivors include her daughters and their husbands, Roma and Bob Visser, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Tami and Marty Guthmiller, of Orange City; five grandchildren, Whitney (Scott) Westphal, of Elkhorn, Nebraska; Ben Visser, of Ames; Jameson (Nicole) Guthmiller, of Orange City; Brett (Elizabeth) Guthmiller, of Des Moines; and Casey Guthmiller, of Orange City; seven great-grandchildren, Ethan, Elijah and Isaac Westphal; Eli, Hudson and Maddie Guthmiller; and Will Guthmiller; a sister, Evelyn Jones; two brothers, Harvey (Annabel) Bolks and Lauren (Hester) Bolks; a sister-in-law, Marie Rowenhorst; and a brother-in-law, Don (Sylvia) Rowenhorst.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her parents-in-law, Henry and Kathryn Rowenhorst; a granddaughter, Hannah Rae Guthmiller; and a brother-in-law, Merlyn Rowenhorst.

Memorials may be directed to the Orange City Area Home Health and Hospice.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.