Keunen, Rev. Cornie Dale 1931-2022

KEUNEN, DEVOS, SPRIK

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting (email)
Date: 7/22/2022 at 17:43:59

Rev. Cornie Keunen, age 90, of Orange City, passed away on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

A visitation with the family present will be held on Sunday, April 3, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City. A prayer service will take place on Monday, at 10:00am, at the funeral home. Interment will follow the prayer service at West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. There will be a memorial service on Monday, at 11:00am, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City with the Rev. Mark Haverdink officiating.

Cornie Dale was born on July 23, 1931, on the family farm between Ireton and Sioux Center, the son of Henry J. and Lena (De Vos) Keunen. He was raised in the Sioux Center and Orange City areas, where he attended country school, Orange City Christian School and graduated from the Northwestern Academy. He then spent two years at Northwestern Junior College, two years at Central College, in Pella, and three years at Western Seminary in Holland, Michigan.

On August 2, 1951, he married Alvina Mae Sprik in Ireton. They served many churches in Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Idaho. They then retired to Orange City. On October 18, 2013, Alvina became a resident of the Prairie Ridge Care Center, where she passed away on April 26, 2015, after more than 63 years of marriage. Cornie then moved to the Pioneer Memorial Home in Orange City for a couple of years before being transferred to the Pleasant Acres Care Center in Hull for a short time, and finally to Prairie Ridge for the last five years.

Rev. Keunen served as a pastor for more than forty years and served on various boards, including as a Stated Clerk of Classis and past president of Kiwanis. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, and in retirement, he served as a pastor for retirees and widows.

Survivors include his son, Brian Keunen, of LaPorte, Indiana; two daughters, Lonice Bemis, of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin; and Rhonda, and her husband, Todd Kempema, of Hudsonville, Michigan; seven grandchildren, Tasha Keunen; Adam and Matthew Bemis; and Jessica, Michael, Julianna, and Makaylee Kempema; two great-grandchildren; a brother and his wife, Willard and Jo Keunen, of Alton; a sister, Nelva Cunningham, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.

In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.