Jeannette Margaret Gerhardi (VanDrie) HALL

VANDRIE, HALL, FEBERWEE, ROBERTS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 1/7/2007 at 11:40:03

February 17, 2004

Jeannette Margaret Gerhardi VanDrie Hall, died on Thursday, February 12, 2004, at the Belmond Medical Center. Funeral services were held on Sunday, February 15, at the United Church of Christ in Belmond, with Rev. Lynne Spencer-Smith officiating. Interment was in the Belmond Cemetery. The Tenold-Andrews Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements. Music was provided by Carol Severson, organist and Jeannette's nieces and nephews, vocalists. Eulogists were Cyndy McNulty, Doug Anderson, Tyler McNeal and Michele Stephens. Honorary casket bearers were educators, Trees Forever members, Historical Society members, and Wright County Republicans. Casket bearers were Stuart Roberts, Steve Kaduce, Larry Turner, Louis VanDrie, Jr., David Nelson and Dean Pals.

Jeannette Hall, was born in Ashton, Iowa on January 25, 1923, the daughter of Gerrit and Sophia Margaretha Gerharda (Feberwee) VanDrie. She was baptized in the Reformed Church. She was educated in the rural schools in Ashton and Ocheyedan, Iowa. While attending high school at Ocheyedan she received Normal Teacher Training. She attended summer school at the State Teacher's College in Cedar Falls. Her first teaching position was in a one room country school in Holman Township in Osceola County. The summer after teaching in Osceola County she and two of her cousins went to California to work as "Rosie the Riveters" in an aircraft plant during World War II. After returning to Iowa, Jeannette taught a few years at the Emmet Consolidated Schools and later in the Paulina Schools. She continued working on her two year degree in the summer at Cedar Falls. She moved to Belmond in 1952 to teach junior high science and language arts. She continued working on her bachelor degree in Early Childhood Education, which she completed in 1963. She continued as the junior high science teacher through the spring of 1974. She taught at the Catholic School in Spencer for one year, retiring after that, completing 35 years of teaching. Jeannette's love of trees fueled her involvement in Belmond Trees Forever. She researched landowner information to assist in the plans for acquisition of the abandoned railway northeast of Belmond for a proposed multi-use recreational project. Jeannette enjoyed the exploration of local and regional fauna. She is responsible for relocating a species of bullfrogs, not native to Belmond, which now thrive in the Belmond gravel pit.

She participated in various civic organizations, secretary and historian for the Belmond Area Arts Council, member of the Eimbrink American Legion Auxiliary, where she served as Senior Vice President, member of the Wright County Republican Women, member of the Wright County Republican Central Committee, where she served as Treasurer, member of the Wright County Genealogical Searchers and member of the women's fellowship at the United Church of Christ in Belmond.

She was preceded in death by her parents, both Dutch immigrants; brother, Rudy; and husband, George Hall. Survivors are brothers, Gerhardt (Char) VanDrie of El Segundo, California, John (Joyce) VanDrie of Lansing, Illinois and Louis (Shirley) VanDrie of Columbia, Missouri; sister, Sophie (Milo) Roberts of Belmond; and 22 nieces and nephews.

©Belmond Independent 2004