Te Grotenhuis, Norman 1947-2024

TEGROTENHUIS, HANNEMA, DEJONG

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 3/6/2024 at 14:37:50

Mr. Norman Te Grotenhuis, age 76, of Orange City, passed away on Thursday, January 25, 2024, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

A visitation with the family present will be held on Sunday, January 28, from 3:00pm to 5:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City. A prayer service will take place on Monday, January 29, at 9:30am, at the funeral home, followed by interment at the 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.

Norman Dean, the son of Arthur and Katie (Hannema) Te Grotenhuis, was born on February 13, 1947, in Orange City. He grew up on a farm near Maurice and was a student at the Maurice school and later at the Maurice-Orange City school. He also attended welding classes at the Northwest Iowa Vocational School in Sheldon and worked part-time at Tolman Manufacturing until starting a job at Vogel Paint, both in Orange City.

He was united in marriage to Rosemary De Jong on May 13, 1966, at the First Christian Reformed Church in Orange City. They made their home in Orange City until Norm left to serve in the Army National Guard. He entered basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and then moved to Fort Dix, New Jersey. When his unit was called to active service, Norm was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, where he was joined by Rose. Following his honorable discharge from the Army in 1969, they moved back to Orange City, and Norm returned to his job at what was now Diamond Vogel Paint. Although he worked in several different capacities at the paint manufacturing facility, his primary role was performing color matching. He retired in 2013, after 48 years of employment. He also spent more than 23 years selling and repairing Electrolux vacuum cleaners in the Orange City area.

Mr. Te Grotenhuis was a life-long member of the First Reformed Church in Orange City. He was also a long-time member of the Pressman-Kosters American Legion Post in Orange City, and in October of 2019, he was blessed to be able to go on the Midwest Honor Flight with his best friend, Jack Oolman. Spending time with his friends and family was important to Norm; he enjoyed attending his children and grandchildren’s various activities, and he looked forward to taking the grandkids out for breakfast at Hardee’s. He and Rose also enjoyed going to gospel music concerts, and Norm took pride in keeping his vehicles shiny and clean.

He is survived by his wife of more than 57 years, Rose, of Orange City; three children, Bradley Te Grotenhuis, of Matlock; Brenda Kelley, of Orange City; and Donna, and her husband, Dan Hagan, of Kingsley; four grandchildren and their spouses, Tyler and Breanne Te Grotenhuis, of New Ulm, Minnesota; Travis and Courtney Te Grotenhuis, of Alton; and Abby and Cody Klaschen, and Jake and Mary Hagan, all of Kingsley; six great-grandchildren, Emmitt, Clara, Wyatt, Kinley, Hunter, and Hannah; a sister, Marilyn Jordan, of Orange City; a brother-in-law and his wife, Wilbur and JoAnn De Jong, of Orange City; and three sisters-in-law, Delores De Jong, of Honey Creek; Susan De Jong, of Woodville, Wisconsin; and Pricilla, and her husband, Otto Huizenga, of Orange City; along with numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Mike Kelley; a brother-in-law, Roger Jordan; two sisters-in-law and their husbands, Rena and Hans Kloosterman, and Arlene and Howard Menninga; and six brothers-in-law, Peter De Jong, and his wife, Lois; Sam De Jong, and his wife, Nellie; Raymond De Jong, and his wife, Arlene; Julius De Jong; Marion De Jong; and Marvin De Jong.

Memorials will be given to the Midwest Honor Flight.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.