Engeltjes, Betty (Mrs. Andrew Arthur) 1935-2024

ENGELTJES, DEGOEI, RAVENSTEIN

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 10/11/2024 at 13:32:36

Mrs. Betty Engeltjes, age 89, of Orange City, passed away on Saturday, October 5, 2024, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

A visitation with the family present will be held on Wednesday, October 9, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City. There will be a funeral service on Thursday, October 10, at 2:00pm, at the Redeemer United Reformed Church in Orange City with the Rev. Todd De Rooy officiating. Interment will follow the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City.

Betty Ann, the daughter of Peter and Marie (De Goei) Ravestein, Jr., was born on September 7, 1935, in Orange City. She and her two older siblings grew up on their family’s farm north of Orange City. Betty received her education from the Orange City Christian School and the Newkirk Consolidated High School, where she played girls basketball. After graduating in 1952, she started working at the Vogel Paint Store in downtown Orange City.

On March 14, 1958, Betty was united in marriage to Andrew Arthur Engeltjes at the First Christian Reformed Church in Orange City. She and “Andy” first made their home on a farm near Archer before moving to the Ravestein home place in 1964, where they raised their four children. In addition to being a wife and mother, Betty also helped around the farm and maintained a large garden from which she canned and froze her produce every year. In 2006, she and Andy moved to a home in Orange City, and in December of 2019, they both became residents of the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City. Andy passed away on October 15, 2022, in Orange City, after more than 64 years together.

Mrs. Engeltjes was currently a member of the Redeemer United Reformed Church and had previously been a member of the First Christian Reformed Church, both in Orange City. In earlier years, she was active in the Monica Society and the churches Ladies Aide groups as well as helping clean at Unity Christian High School in Orange City.

Betty liked to make her home a welcoming place for family and friends, regularly using her creativity to repaint and decorate. Once their children were grown, Betty and Andy found enjoyment in camping, often with a group of their friends at local campgrounds. They were also devoted fans and regular attendees of Unity Christian sporting events, particularly volleyball and basketball games. She and Andy rarely missed an opportunity to cheer on their grandchildren, who will fondly remember grandma’s “green potatoes” and annual Dutch treat of balkenbrij…for those that would eat it.

She is survived by her four children, Gaylan Engeltjes, and his wife, Shirlene, of Orange City; Arlin Engeltjes, of Everly; Marla, and her husband, Ed Hoogland, of Orange City; and Deb, and her husband, Scott Hunt, of Rock Rapids; fourteen grandchildren, Tony Engeltjes, and his wife, Rachel; Sheila, and her husband, Matt Mulder; Jill, and her husband, Travis Netten; Kim, and her husband, Andy Davelaar; Amanda, and her husband, Carl Monroe; Megan, and her husband, AJ Hanson; Trevor Engeltjes; Alex Engeltjes; Matt Vande Kieft, and his wife, Heather; Trent Hoogland; Morgan Hoogland; Bryce Hunt, and his wife, Chelsea; Shelby Hunt; and Josh Hunt, and his wife, Brooke; 33 great-grandchildren; a sister and her husband, Cathy and Harvey De Groot, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and a sister-in-law, Betty Engeltjes, of Edgerton, Minnesota; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a granddaughter-in-law, Courtney Engeltjes; a great-granddaughter, Kasey Engeltjes; a brother and his wife, Peter and Muriel Ravestein; four brothers-in-law, Lewis Engeltjes, and his wife, Gertrude; Albertus Engeltjes; Henry Engeltjes, and his wife, Wilma; and Bernie Engeltjes; and six sisters-in-law and their husbands, Bertha and Dick Franken, Grace and Tony Van Roekel, Hattie and Fred Vollink, Fannie and Fred Van Dieren, Marie and Gerrit Fedders, and Nellie and Willard Meyer.

Memorials will be given to the Unity Christian High School in Orange City.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.