Vermeer, Ethan Gerald 1940-2022

VERMEER, VANDERZWAAG, OORDT

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting (email)
Date: 7/22/2022 at 17:39:21

Mr. Ethan Vermeer, age 81, of Orange City, passed away on Saturday, April 2, 2022, at the Orange City Area Health System.

A visitation with the family present will be held on Friday, April 8, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City. There will be a funeral service on Saturday, at 2:00pm, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City with the Rev. Mark Haverdink officiating. Interment will follow the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City.

Ethan Gerald was born on September 19, 1940, in Orange City, the fourth of five children born to Edward R. and Gertrude A. M. (Oordt) Vermeer. He was raised on the family farm southeast of Sioux Center, attended country school through the 8th grade, Sioux Center High School, and then Northwestern College in Orange City for two years.

On September 24, 1963, he married Anna Beth Van Der Zwaag at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. Ethan and Anna Beth made their home in Orange City, raising their family there.

After brief stints working at Silent Sioux Corporation and as a carpenter, Ethan joined the Orange City Municipal Utilities as a member of the Water Department, where he worked for a decade. He was then custodian at the Orange City Town Hall and Adult Activities Center for 22 years, serving the city for a total of 32 years. For many of these years he also drove the ‘Dial-A-Ride’ service, in which he was instantly recognizable about town in the series of striking vehicles provided, including his favorite, a traditional Checker-style cab painted baby blue. Throughout his working life Ethan was also a part-time vacuum cleaner salesman and a skilled repairman.

Ethan continued his service to the community in retirement by volunteering for Hope Haven International Ministries, where he coordinated getting wheelchairs and parts at the shop in Orange City from Sioux Falls, to recondition them for charitable use. He also volunteered for several years driving dialysis patients for treatment in Sioux City and Hospers.

Another service Ethan gave Orange City was driving the city float, accompanied by the current year’s Tulip Court members, in area town parades, including River-Cade in Sioux City. He also frequently drove the city float in Tulip Festival parades, and in later years was a regular in the Heritage Walk.

A long-term member of First Reformed Church in Orange City, Ethan helped with logistics after services, and as an usher for funerals. He and Anna Beth also served as greeters, Prayer Warriors and coffee time hosts, and also served at The Banquet in Sioux Falls.

Throughout his life Ethan enjoyed cars and was known for driving his own sizable Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs and attending classic auto shows. After retiring from the city, Ethan established his own car detailing business, serving individual clients and working for Westside Motors and Rons Motors, both in Orange City. He also had a passion for classic country and country gospel music, and followed the Minnesota Twins.

He is survived by his wife of more than 58 years, Anna Beth, of Orange City; his sisters, Carolyn Rohlf, of Eagan, Minnesota; and Glenda Seely, of Loveland, Colorado; three children, Ross Vermeer, and wife, Percy, and their daughter, Elena, all of Hong Kong; L. Andra, and her husband, Cary Wauters, of Libertyville, Illinois; and Troy Vermeer, of Bellevue, Nebraska.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his older brothers Richard Vermeer and Vernon Vermeer.

Memorials will be given to Hope Haven, Bibles for Missions, and Samaritan’s Purse.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.