Boscaljon, Harriet Jean (Mrs. Gordon Herbert) 1933-2021

BOSCALJON, DEZEEUW, ZIGTEMA

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:36

Mrs. Harriet Jean Boscaljon, age 88, of Sanborn, passed away on Saturday, January 30, 2021, at the Prairie View Home in Sanborn.

There will be a private family funeral service on Thursday, February 4, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Hull. The Rev. Kevin Gingerich will officiate. Interment will follow the service at the Hillside Cemetery near Doon. Visitation with the family will be on Wednesday, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the funeral home.

Harriet Jean was born on January 22, 1933, on a farm near Orange City, the oldest daughter of Barney and Henrietta (De Zeeuw) Zigtema. She grew up on various farms north and east of the Doon and Hull area. She attended the Doon High School, graduating in 1950, where she played on the lady’s six-on-six basketball team, a talent she passed on to her sons.

On June 1, 1951, she was united in marriage to Gordon Herbert Boscaljon, at the First Reformed Church in Doon. They initially made their home in Ames, where Gordon attended Iowa State University, and they started their family, giving birth to their first three sons, Barry William, Robert Gordon, and Charles Allen. Harriet would tell many stories of these lean years, when they had to live with the little that they had. Upon Gordon’s graduation, they moved to Charles City, where they continued to grow their family, giving birth to Gayle Kathryn and James Donald. In 1973, Gordon’s job moved them to new homes in various locations, including St. Louis Park, Minnesota; Lake Zurich, Illinois; Fort Recovery, Ohio; and back to Charles City, before moving to Orange City in 1992. In 2003, they moved to the Des Moines area, where Gordon passed away on January 13, 2007, after more than 55 years of marriage. In 2018, Harriet became a resident of the Prairie View Campus Healthcare in Sanborn.

Jean was a strong woman of faith in Jesus Christ. She enjoyed playing piano and organ and would often be the church accompanist wherever the family was attending. This love of music influenced her children, who sang together on many occasions. She also enjoyed digging into the Bible, teaching Sunday School classes, and leading in-depth Bible studies. She liked working on many types of crafts, including making teddy bears, which she collected and gave away as gifts. She admired red cardinals which decorated her walls, windows, clothing, and gardens. In earlier years, she and Gordon cherished the time they spent traveling, taking their family on many summer camping trips. After the kids were grown up, Jean and Gordon continued to travel, going on several Alaskan cruises and taking a trip to Holland. She also organized many family reunions during the holidays at various locations in Illinois and Iowa.

Survivors include her five children and their spouses; Barry William Boscaljon, and his wife Sally, of Sheldon; Robert Gordon Boscaljon, and his wife Karen, of Houston, Texas; Charles Allen Boscaljon, and his wife Debra, of Des Moines; Gayle Kathryn, and her husband David Williamson, of Iron Mountain, Michigan; and James Donald Boscaljon, and his wife Valarie, of Lodi, Ohio; fourteen grandchildren; Daniel, Andrew, Benjamin, Margaret, Kari, Marybeth, William, Michael, Peter, Kristin, Ruth, Rebecca, Matthew, and Samuel; 32 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Glenda Hobson, of Merrill, and Audrey, and her husband Marvin VerMulm, of Sun City, Arizona; a sister-in-law, Arlene Boscaljon, of Sheldon, and many nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by in-laws, Lyman Hobson, Donald and Lena Boscaljon, and Willard Boscaljon.

Memorials may be directed to Gideons International, Hope Ministries of Des Moines, or Prairie View Campus Healthcare of Sanborn.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.