Haverdink, Thelma Jean (Mrs. Eugene "Gene" Myrl) 1937-2020

HAVERDINK, VANDERWILT, JOUWSTRA

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

Mrs. Thelma Haverdink, age 83, of Orange City, passed away on Sunday, August 2, 2020, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

There will be a funeral service on Saturday, August 8, at 10:00am, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. Mark Haverdink will officiate. Interment will follow the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. Visitation with the family will be on Friday, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

You are invited to leave a message of condolence, print a memorial folder, and participate in the service via live stream at www.oolman.com. The service will also be broadcast on Long Lines channel 22 and Premier channel 77.

Thelma Jean was born on June 21, 1937, in Le Mars, the daughter of Evert and Henrietta (Vander Wilt) Jouwstra. She was raised in Rock Valley, where she graduated from the Rock Valley High School before enrolling at the Northwestern Junior College in Orange City. After earning her teaching degree, she taught elementary school in Rock Valley for two years.

On August 13, 1958, she married Eugene Myrl Haverdink in Rock Valley. They made their home on a farm near Orange City. She taught grade school at the Orange City Christian School for one year and later for Wee Dutchmen Preschool and Wee Blessings Preschool in Orange City for 22 years.

She was a member of the First Reformed Church, where she participated in the Women’s Bible Study groups and taught Sunday School. She was also a member of the Red Hat Society. She enjoyed anything having to do with children and loved to laugh with others. Her family will miss her beautiful smile and wonderful sense of humor.

Survivors include her husband of almost 62 years, “Gene”, of Orange City; four children and their spouses, Greg and Laura Haverdink, of Orange City; Deane and Greg Lafferty, of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; Rod and Courtney Haverdink, of Sergeant Bluff; and Dave and Sara Haverdink, of St. Louis, Missouri; sixteen grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; two sisters, Wilma Humme, of Rock Valley, and Fran, and her husband, Mohummed Sadden, of Sioux City; a brother and his wife, Evert and Ellen Jouwstra, of Lennox, South Dakota; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister and her husband, Eunice and Gary Vander Wilt; and a brother-in-law, James Humme.

Memorials may be directed to the Gideon’s International.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.