Don VANGERPEN

VANGERPEN, BURMA, PARSONS, ROCCO, MYERS, DIMURO, LUNDBERG, CHRISTENSEN, GREENBERG, PARSONS, LEIN

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 12/12/2007 at 10:27:05

Don VanGerpen, a resident of San Diego, CA, passed away January 16, 2007, following a lengthy illness. Born to Reinhard and Katherine (Burma) Van Gerpen in Buffalo Center, Iowa, on Feb. 22, 1931, he was the fourth of 10 children. After joining the U.S. Navy in 1950, he served in the Seabee’s and aboard the U.S.S. Rendova and U.S.S. Blue, along with other duty stations in the Philippines, at Camp Elliott and 32nd St. in San Diego, Atsugi and Camp Zuma in Japan, Washington, D.C. and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He retired as Chief Yeoman (E7) in 1972 and from the U.S. Naval Reserves in 1980. He joined the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department in 1973 as a booking clerk and retired in 1993 as the Detention Processing Manager after 20 years of service and continued on as a consultant until 1995.

Don is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Ellen Gervaise (Parsons) Van Gerpen, their daughters, Melinda (Joe) Rocco of San Diego, CA, Brenda (John) Myers of Belmond, Iowa, Pamela (Vince) DiMuro of Santee, CA, and his daughter by a previous marriage, Angela (John) Lundberg of Liberty, MO. His grandchildren, Michael Rocco, Amber and Nick Myers, Christina and Amanda DiMuro, four brothers, Pete (Pat) of Iowa City, IA, John (Edna) of Marion, IA, Jerry (Marian) of Nampa, ID, Larry (Sandy) of Emerado, ND, one sister, June (Allyn) Christensen of Clarion, IA, sisters-in law, Velma (Dick) Van Gerpen of Dows, IA, Janet Greenberg of Edmond, OK, Joyce Parsons of Camanche, IA and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, Jasper “Bud”, R. Richard “Dick” and Russell, by his sister Freda and her husband Arlon Lein, and by brothers-in-law Lou Greenberg and David Parsons.

Services will be held January 24, 2007 at 1pm at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to San Diego Hospice and Palliative Care, 4311 Third Ave., San Diego, CA 92103. Our family will be forever grateful for the care Don, Dad, Grandpa, Papa and we received while in their care. Donations can also be sent to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163.

Dows Advocate
January 2007