Sioux County pays tribute to those who have labored, loving genealogy, sacrificing their time--

"You are greatly missed by us all."

J. Minerva Van Peursem

January 23, 1934 - November 14, 2013

Mrs. Minerva Van Peursem, age 79, of Orange City, passed away on
Thursday, November 14, 2013, at Unity Point Health – St. Luke’s in
Sioux City.

There will be a memorial service on Monday, November 18, at 11:00am,
at the Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. John
Klompien will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service at the
West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. There will be a family prayer
service on Monday, at 10:00am, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange
City.

Visitation will be after 4:00pm on Sunday, with the family present
from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, at the funeral home.

Joan Minerva was born on January 23, 1934, near Sanborn, the daughter
of John and Johanna (De Vries) De Beer. She was raised on a farm by
Carnes, where she attended a country school. She graduated from the
Northwestern Classical Academy and attended Northwestern Junior
College in Orange City.

On June 13, 1955, she married David Lee Van Peursem in Orange City.
They first made their home in Alton, where she was a school teacher.
For most of their married life, they lived in Orange City, where she
was a nurse’s aide and later the care coordinator and patient
advocate at the Orange City Municipal Hospital. She also taught adult
education classes through the Northwest Iowa Community College in
Sheldon.

Mrs. Van Peursem was a member of the Calvary Christian Reformed
Church, where she participated in the Harmony Circle. She also
belonged to the Cancer Society, the Greater Sioux County Geneology
Society, and the Siouxland Missionary Union.

She served as vice-chairperson of the board of trustees of the Orange
City Area Health System and was an Emergency Medical Technician in
Orange City. For five years, she was named the Iowa Volunteer of the
Year.

Minerva enjoyed quilting and doting on her grandchildren, making a
quilt for each of them.

Survivors include her husband of more than 58 years, Dave; two
children and their spouses, Diane and Glen Broek, of Sioux Center; and
Robert and Kathryn Van Peursem, of Huntsville, Alabama; a
daughter-in-law, Vickie Van Peursem, of Zeeland, Michigan; five
grandchildren, Lindsey Marie Broek; Megan, and her husband, Levi
Bruins; Emily Van Peursem, Ross Van Peursem, and Laura Van Peursem;
four sisters, Darlene, and her husband, Stanley Vander Aarde, of
Orange City; Marilyn, and her husband, Kermit Hoffs, of Phoenix,
Arizona; Ruth, and her husband, Jack Wilson, of Gross Point Woods,
Michigan; and Laura Peuse, of Holstein; a brother and his wife, John
De Beer and Mona Baumgartel, of Encinitas, California; and a
sister-in-law, Lois De Beer, of Orange City.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a son, Keith
Van Peursem; two brothers, Fred and Peter De Beer; a brother-in-law,
Duane Peuse; and a nephew, Leon Vander Aarde.

Memorials will be directed to Christian Education and the Cancer
Society.