[ Return to Index ] [ Read Prev Msg ] [ Read Next Msg ]

Louwerse, Kenneth John 1937-2022

LOUWERSE, DEBOER, BURGERS

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 1/25/2023 at 13:28:06

Mr. Kenneth Louwerse, age 85, of Orange City, passed away on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

A visitation with the family present will be held on Monday, December 12, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Orange City. A prayer service will take place on Tuesday, December 13, at 9:30am, at the church, followed by interment at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. There will be a memorial service on Tuesday, at 10:30am, at the church with the Rev. John Klompien officiating. The Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City is in charge of arrangements.

Kenneth John was born on June 6, 1937, on a farm near Hawarden, the son of John and Gertrude (Burgers) Louwerse. He grew up near Hawarden and attended country school and the Hawarden High School. After graduating in 1954, he worked as a farmhand until enlisting in the United States Army in 1956, and was stationed in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

On December 28, 1956, while home on leave, he married Hermina De Boer at the Carmel Reformed Church. They made their home in Upper Marlboro until Ken was honorably discharged in 1959, and they returned to Northwest Iowa. They first lived in Sioux Center, where Ken worked as an egg delivery driver for Co-op Produce. In the early 1970s, after moving their family to Orange City, Ken decided to further his education by taking night classes at the Sioux Empire College in Hawarden, earning an associate degree in business. He spent the remainder of his working career at Sioux Preme Pack and Sioux Automation Center, both in Sioux Center. Following his retirement, he worked part time as a parts delivery driver for Arnold Motor Supply in Orange City. In 2017, Ken and Hermina sold their home and moved into a condo adjacent to the Pioneer Home in Orange City, and in January of 2020, they became residents of the Prairie Ridge Care Center.

Mr. Louwerse was a member of the Calvary Christian Reformed Church, where he served as an elder, deacon, cadet leader, and participated in numerous youth group mission trips to Majestic View Ministries in Libby, Montana. He also volunteered for many mission trips to Mississippi with Justice for All. He was a previous member of the Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center, and the Hawarden Christian Reformed Church. He was proud to be involved with the Future Farmers of America, the Jaycees in Sioux Center, and the Orange City Antique Tractor Club. Ken was an avid fisherman, often taking the family on fishing trips to Battle Lake, Minnesota. Spending time with his family was important to Ken, and he regularly attended his grandchildren’s various activities. He enjoyed reading, working on handyman projects, and restoring old tractors, which he drove in the annual Orange City Tulip Festival parades.

Survivors include his wife of nearly 66 years, his daughter and her husband, Kathy and Evert Van Maanen, of Doon; two sons and their wives, Terry and Sue Louwerse and Kevin and Carma Louwerse, all of Orange City; eleven grandchildren, Brent Van Maanen, and his wife, Raelle; Eric Van Maanen, and his wife, Liz; Kalen Van Maanen, and his wife, Amber; Jordan Van Maanen, and his wife, Lydia; Joshua Louwerse, and his wife, Jess; Stephanie, and her husband, Jake Hubers; Jamie Louwerse, and his wife, Sharine; Ashley Louwerse, and her fiancé, Harley Luhmann; Abby, and her husband, Eli Anderson; Andrew Louwerse, and his wife, Rachel; and Adam Louwerse, and his wife, Shayla; 23 great-grandchildren; a brother and his wife, the Rev. Anthony and Esther Louwerse, of Holland Michigan; three sisters and their husbands, Marie and Don Mulder, of Ireton; Joann and Roger Obbink, of Hawarden; and Gertrude and Mike Van Regenmorter, of Rock Valley; a brother-in-law, Ken De Boer, of Macon, Missouri; and four sisters-in-law, Lori, and her husband, Sherwin Van Kekerix, of Rock Valley; Marge, and her husband, Gene Van Kekerix, of Sioux Falls; Arlis De Boer, of Sioux Center; and Donna Walters, of Lake Madison, South Dakota.

In addition to his parents and his wife’s parents, John and Dorothy De Boer; he was preceded in death by a granddaughter, April Louwerse; a sister, Judith Louwerse; a sister-in-law, Gloria De Boer; and two brothers-in-law, Ivan De Boer and George Walters.

Memorials will be given to the Covenant House Alaska.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.


 

Sioux Obituaries maintained by Linda Ziemann.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen

[ Return to Index ] [ Read Prev Msg ] [ Read Next Msg ]