Verhoef, William – 1919-2010

BENTLEY, DE GROOT, GRIFFIOEN, JANSEN, NOLTE, PETRIN, SMIT, SULLIVAN, VAN DER LEE, VAN HAAFTEN, VAN WALBEEK, VANDE KROL, VANDEN BOSCH, VERHOEF

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 11/30/2010 at 10:23:49

William Verhoef, 91, died Friday, Nov. 26, 2010, at the Hospice of Pella Comfort House.
A funeral service will be at 1:30 p.m. today at the Covenant Reformed Church in Pella. Interment will be at the Evergreen Cemetery in Leighton. Visitation was on Sunday at the Van Dyk-Duven Funeral Home.
Source: Newton Daily News; Monday, November 29, 2010

Additional information from Van Dyk-Duven Funeral Home website:
Willem Verhoef, the first of eight children born to Willem and Jannetje (Van der Lee) Verhoef, was born on September 6, 1919, in Abcoude, the Netherlands, in the Province of Utrecht. He was baptized and made profession of his faith in the Gereformerde Kerk of Baambrugge, Netherlands. Willem was educated in the Netherlands, including attending a trade school for farmers. When World War II started in Europe in 1939, the Netherlands was quickly occupied by Germany. Willem was part of the Dutch military, and the large haymow at the Verhoef farm was used to hide the secret headquarters of the underground. The Verhoef family also hid Jews escaping from the Germans. On June 17, 1942, Willem married Neeltje Johanna (Nelly) Griffioen. Since it was still wartime in Holland, they blacked out the windows of the large barn and had a wedding party. All the guests stayed overnight due to the curfew. During the war, two of their children were born: Willem in 1943 and Neeltje Johanna Alida (Nellie) in 1945. The winter of 1945 was known as the Hunger Winter in Amsterdam, and many babies died. In 1946, their third child, Janette, was born in Holland. Since Willem and Nelly shared the dream of owning a dairy farm and there were no farms available in the Netherlands, in 1949 they decided to immigrate to the United States. They were always grateful to their sponsor, Eldert Groenendyk from Tracy, Iowa who made this possible. Willem loved his adopted country and would thank God every day for the privilege of “living in this great country”. They were able to rent farms in the Tracy, Brooklyn, Bussey, and Leighton, Iowa areas. During this time four more children were born: Gary Marion, Harry John, Theodore Peter and Marjorie Elaine. Theodore was born in 1957 and died at the age of six days. Gary was killed in a playground accident in 1958 at the age of seven years. In 1955 Willem and Nelly became naturalized citizens along with their three oldest children. They Americanized their own names to William (Bill) and Nelly Johanna, and their children’s to William, Nellie Joan, and Jeanette. In 1960 they realized their dream of owning a dairy farm by buying a farm just south of Pella, Iowa. In their retirement years, William and Nelly enjoyed traveling and spent their winters in Florida. Nelly died in 1993 on her 72nd birthday, while returning from Florida to Iowa. William continued to live on that farm until 2007 and in 2008, due to failing health, he moved to Jefferson Place in Pella. He passed away on November 26, 2010, at the Hospice of Pella Comfort House at the age of 91 years. Those surviving him are his five children and their spouses, 16 grandchildren, and 21 great grandchildren:William and Shirley Verhoef of Otley, IA,William and Jeannie Verhoef of Andover, MN,Rachel, William, Ben, and Jonah,Stacy and Rev. Michael Bentley of Hollandale, MN,Adam, Katie, Anna, and Samuel,James Verhoef of Apple Valley, MN;Nellie “Joan” (Keith) Vande Krol of Pella, IA,K. Dwayne and Lori Vande Krol of Clive, IA,Emma, Josie, and Reese,Teresa and Jason Petrin of Woodbury, MN,Elizabeth and Gabrielle;Jeanette and Roger Jansen of Pella, IA,Russell Jansen of Norwalk, IA,Joshua Jansen,Michael and Leasa Jansen of Pella, IA, Alyssa and Bill Nolte,Danielle,Zach; Harry and Linda Verhoef of Pella, IA,Ryan and Julia Verhoef of Belton,TX,Dean and Holly Verhoef of St.Peters, MO,Olivia,Aaron and Hannah Verhoef of Newton, NJ,Katelyn Verhoef at home,Adam Verhoef at home,Jon Verhoef at home, Elizabeth Verhoef at home;Marjorie and Mark Van Haaften of Otley, IA,Wendy and Jon Sullivan of Ankeny, IA,Cady and Payton,Michael and Janeva Van Haaften of Pella, IA, Malachi. His surviving sisters are: Mar Smit of the Netherlands, Nell De Groot of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Carrie and husband, Tunis Van Walbeek of Pella, IA; along with brother-in-law, Barend Vanden Bosch of the Netherlands and sister-in-law, Rie Verhoef of the Netherlands. Preceding him in death were his wife and two sons, his son-in-law, Keith Vande Krol; his parents; his three brothers, Harmen and Jan Verhoef of the Netherlands, Simon Verhoef and wife, Johanna of Pella; and his sister, Jannetje Vanden Bosch of the Netherlands. William was a blessing to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; teaching by his example to sacrifice, work, learn, love each other, and most of all, love God.
Memorials may be made to the Mid-Am Reformed Seminary.