Lorraine H. (Kitzman) HERTEMA

HERTEMA, SEVERSON, KITZMAN, ROHWER, CLEMENS, DICKENSEN, MILLER, PHILLIPS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/10/2024 at 13:06:50

October 23, 1917 ---- July 11, 2018

Lorraine H. Hertema, 100, of Belmond, IA, passed away Wednesday, July 11, 2018, at the Rehabilitation Center of Belmond. Funeral services will be Monday, July 16, 2018, 10:30 AM, at the Andrews Funeral Home, 516 1st St. S.E., Belmond, IA. The Reverend Leila Blackburn will be officiating. Visitation will be from 9:30 am until the time of services on Monday at the funeral home in Belmond. A public graveside service will follow at 2:30 PM, at the Oakland Cemetery at Beaman, IA. Memorials and expressions of sympathies may be directed in care of Lorraine's family % Carol Severson, 2721 140th St., Belmond, IA 50421. Suggested choices include to her family or to the Belmond-Klemme Scholarship Foundation II.

Lorraine was born on October 23, 1917, in Beaman, Iowa to farmers Henry and Olga (Rohwer) Kitzman. She was the eldest of 6 children to bless this union including: sisters Anna Kitzman who passed away as an infant, Venita Kitzman, Mary Jean Clemens, and Marjorie Davis Dickensen, and her brothers Henry (Charles) Kitzman, and John Kitzman. The first eight years of Lorraine's education were spent in a little white frame country schoolhouse across the road from the family's home, and her parents provided board and room to several teachers. She later attended and graduated from Beaman High School with 5 other class mates in the class of 1935. She enjoyed directing and performing in class plays, playing piano, violin and the accordion, but her childhood dream was to become a teacher. Following high school she went on to continue her education and graduate from Iowa State Teacher's College, Cedar Falls, IA, and then taught for periods of time at Beaman and Maple Hill, IA. In 1939 she and a small group of teachers traveled by car to explore the East and attend the New York World's Fair.

Lorraine was united in marriage to Ennis Hertema on May 24, 1941, in Beaman, where they farmed the Lamken farm. Lorraine was active in all aspects of the farm operations, as well as being a fulltime home maker, and mother to her their three children: Carol, Mary, and Daryl, and wife to Ennis. Lorraine instilled the values of hard work, faith, family, and education in her children. Lorraine truly was a teacher not only in the classroom, but in her everyday life's journey and taught life lessons to all who crossed her life pathway of more than 100 years.

She was a longtime member of the Beaman Methodist Church, where she taught children's Sunday School for more than 30 years. Active in 4-H by the age of 10, she went on to become a 4-H leader in Grundy County for over 25 years, teaching young girls to garden, cook, sew, decorate homes, and do public speaking. In 1960 she was awarded a state 4-H Alumni Award. Her motto: "To do what I can do to help."

Lorraine and Ennis opened their home to several young people over the years, including troubled teens and foreign exchange students. In 1973 the couple took their honeymoon: a six week trip to Europe. Upon retiring in 1976, the couple resided in Conrad, IA, where Lorraine focused her energy on completing family genealogies. Over time, they visited 49 of the United States. Lorraine traveled to Hawaii in 1994 to experience number 50.

Lorraine moved to Belmond following the death of her husband. She enjoyed her flower garden, crossword puzzles, and creating detailed works in counted cross stitch. Her elder years would take her back to the classroom. Her face would light up every time she spoke of her many years as a volunteer at Belmond-Klemme and Jacobson Elementary Schools, where she became known affectionately to students, parents, and staff alike as "Grandma Lorraine", helping first graders learn to read.

Lorraine's memory will be carried forward in the hearts and minds of her daughters: Carol (Larry) Severson, Belmond, IA, and Mary Miller, Clarion, IA, and her son Daryl (Pat) Hertema, Fair Oaks, CA; grandsons Scott Severson, Belmond, IA, and Jon (Melissa) Hertema, Springfield, VA; granddaughter Heather Hertema, Fair Oaks, CA; and great-granddaughter Lilliana Phillips, Fair Oaks, CA, and a great-grandson Jax Hertema, Springfield, VA. Lorraine is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Ennis in 1993, her sisters: Anna, Venita, Mary Jean, and Marjorie; and her brothers Henry "Charles" and John, and her nephew Douglas Clemens. Andrews Funeral Home, Belmond, IA.

http://www.andrewsfuneralhomeandfloral.com/obituary/lorraine-hertema