VanHeukelom, Helen I. Mrs. Rev. Clarence 1930-2008

VANHEUKELOM, VANDERMYDEN, VANZETTEN

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/25/2012 at 09:28:26

HELEN I. VAN HEUKELOM
Mrs. Helen Van Heukelom, age 78, of Orange City, passed away on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at the Orange City Area Health System Long Term Care Facility. There will be a memorial service on Thursday, July 24, at 2:30pm, at the American Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. Keith Krebs will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service at the Newkirk Cemetery in rural Hospers.
Helen Irene was born on March 10, 1930, in Oskaloosa, the daughter of Ralph and Jennie (Vander Myden) Van Zetten. She was raised at Oskaloosa, where she graduated from high school in 1948. In 1951, she graduated from the Iowa Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Des Moines, as a registered nurse. She then practiced nursing in Des Moines and Independence and in Topeka, Kansas. On July 1, 1952, she married the Rev. Clarence Earl Van Heukelom in Oskaloosa, and they served the Lord together. From 1952 through 1958, she was a Director of Nursing at the Bethesda Hospital in Denver, Colorado, where he was Chaplain. In 1958, they founded the First Reformed Church in Willmar, Minnesota, and in 1963, the Church on the Hill in Norco, California. They relocated to the Piatt Ranch Community Church in Canoga Park, California, in 1968, and in 1971, they moved to the Newkirk Reformed Church in rural Hospers. In 1981, they were led to the mission field on the Apache Reservation in New Mexico, where they served the Mescalero Reformed Church. In 1984, they transferred to the First Reformed Church in Sibley, and they retired to Orange City in 1990. Clarence passed away on August 23, 1999, in Orange City. Helen then resided at the Pioneer Court until May of 2007, when she moved to the Landsmeer Ridge Retirement Community, both in Orange City. On April 28
of this year, she transferred to the Long Term Care Facility. She was a member of the American Reformed Church. She was an accomplished musician and served as an organist and pianist in many churches. She had a great love for her Lord and Savior and led others to him by her testimony and the life she lived. For many years, the Rev. and Mrs. Van Heukelom served as host parents for International Students at Northwestern College in Orange City. She also volunteered with Hands Around the World in Orange City, an organization which sells goods made by individuals in under-privileged countries. She enjoyed traveling and with her husband toured the United States, Holland, England, Mexico, and the Panama Canal. Helen was deeply devoted to her family and friends. She especially enjoyed the Christmas holidays, when her family would gather at their home. Her family will remember her ability to listen, her hospitality, her patience and guidance, and her sense of modesty regarding her accomplishmen
Survivors include her daughter, Tamara Aberson, of Orange City; her son and his wife, Mark and Jocelyn Van Heukelom, of Parker, Colorado; seven grandchildren, Shelby Jo Aberson, of Orange City; Joshua Aberson, and his wife, Katie, and Jordan Aberson, all of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Shanna Aberson, of Orange City; Cori Van Heukelom, of Lone Tree, Colorado; and Abby Van Heukelom and Haley Van Heukelom, both of Parker; six great-grandchildren, Kaylie, Brianna and Keegan Distler; and Shaun, Colin, and Taylor Aberson; a sister and her husband, Betty and Emest Klaaren, of Oskaloosa; two brothers and their wives, Lawrence and Claudia Van Zetten, of Custer, South Dakota; and the Rev. James and Diane Van Zetten, of Chicago, Illinois; an honorary son and his wife, John Paul and Katy Sundararajan, of Michigan and India; and many nephews and nieces.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents.ts.
Source: Oolman Funeral Home, Orange City, IA., obit.