Evadena's first school experience was in the Tracy Consolidated School, where she attended kindergarten. She remembered riding to school in a 'kid wagon', a motorless school bus pulled by two horses. A kerosene heater gave a little warmth, and hot pieces of iron on the floor kept the kids' feet from freezing. A sad memory of her school days was the death of her young brother, Henry (in kindergarten), from polio. Evadena completed eight grade and graduated from Burr Oak School in Scott township on June 14, 1933. Evadena had a few piano lessons in her youth. Later, she would enjoy playing from the hymn book in the evening. A favorite she often played was, "I Need Thee Every Hour".
On December 1, 1941, she was united in marriage to Ray DeBruin at Lancaster, Missouri. After more than 67 years of marriage, Ray died November 6, 2009. They farmed with his dad for a time until Ray was called up to go to the service. Ray was assigned to a base on Long Island, New York where Evadena experienced the violence of an east coast hurricane. The winds were so threatening that she came down from her second floor apartment to the safety of the first floor. Following the war, Evadena and Ray farmed rented land for a few years. In 1953, they purchased their farm in White Oak township. They made their home there until 1981, when they moved into their retirement home in University Park.
Evadena was an excellent cook and made everything 'from scratch', often without the benefit of a recipe. It was a special day when the children came home from school to the fragrance of freshly-baked caramel rolls. She was a good soup maker and made her soup by adding 'a little of this and a little of that'. Grandchildren and great grandchildren were a bonus for Evadena and she enjoyed every single one. She gave each the unconditional love for which grandmothers are known. She was alongtime member of the First Christian Reformed Church, Oskaloosa, and had a strong belief in the power of prayer.
Her family includes her children and spouses: Joyce and Alvin Van Wyk of Ocheyedan, Iowa and their children Christi and David; Linda and Dick Milholland of Asheville, North Carolina; Harold and Ruth De Bruin of Fremont and their children Rex(Rachel), Joel(Hayley), Rachel(Will)Grant, and Heather(Randall)de Boer; Donna and Nich Forhardt of Sas City, Iowa and children Eric(Lea), Nicholas; Daniel(Rachael)and Robin; and Carol and Lawrence Hill of Alexander, North Carolina; thirteen great grandchildren; two brothers: Gibert and Bertha Roozeboom of Pella and Gerrit and Matilda Roozeboom of Knoxville; Anna DeBruin, Oskaloosa Nadine Stek of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Evelyn(Thaymer)Jonker of Oak Lawn, Illinois; and a brother in law: Marvin(Jeanette)DeBruin.
Others who will cherish her memory are numerous cousins(in her words, 'cousins by the dozens'), nephews, nieces, friends, and neighbors. The caregivers who helped her in the last months of her life also came to appreciate her subtle humor and her gentle spirit. They were special to her and she was special to them.
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents; and four brothers: Arie, John, and two brothers named Henry.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, February 24, 2011, at 1 pm in the First Christian Reformed Church in Oskaloosa with the Reverend Dale Visser officiating. Burial will be in the White Oak Cemetery, east of Oskaloosa. There will be a Family Prayer Service Thursday at 12:45 pm. Visitation will begin at the Bates Funeral Chapel on Wednesday after 11 am, and the family will be at the funeral chapel on Wednesday from 5-7 pm to greet friends and relatives. Memorials may be made to the Oskaloosa Christian School or to First Christian Reformed Church, Oskaloosa.
Married Nellie Roozeboom in 1940 at Kirksville, Missouri.
William and Nellie had 3 sons (Bob, Rodger, and John) and 2 daughters (Diane and Jane).
Died April 30, 1970.
OSKALOOSA DAILY HERALD
Oskaloosa, Iowa
Thursday, 30 April 1970, Page 8
Brubaker dies early Thursday, funeral pending
William R. Brubaker, 54, of 1112 Third avenue west, died early Thursday en route to University Hospitals, Iowa City.
A resident of Oskaloosa for the past 35 years, he was the owner and operator of Brubaker Radio and Refrigeration and was an engineer for KBOE Radio in Oskaloosa.
He was born March 27, 1916, in Marion County, the son of Leo and Myra Nace Brubaker.
Surviving are his wife, Nellie, and five children, John and Jane, both at home; Roger of Ft. Sill, Okla., Mrs. David (Dianne) Lemon of Iowa City, and Robert of Columbus, Ohio.
Also surviving are one granddaughter; three grandsons; two brothers, Nace Brubaker of Washington, D.C., and Clark Brubaker of Des Moines; and two sisters, Mrs. Mary Green of Oklahoma and Mrs. Glen (Jean) DeGeest, Oskaloosa, as well as his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leo Brubaker of rural Harvey.
Funeral services are pending at Powers Funeral Home.
On February 12, 1947 she was united in marriage with John William Roozeboom at her parents farm near Leighton. To this union three children were born: Mary Ann, Mark John and Deanne Jean.
John and Clarice rented the van Engelenhoven Farm near Leighton for ten years. Then in 1957 John bought the Leighton Locker Plant and they moved into Leighton. In 1965 they moved to the farm east of Leighton. John Continued to operate the locker until the time of his untimely death, April 5, 1968.
Following his death, Clarice and her three young children remained on the farm until moving to Pella, Iowa in 1971. Clarice had worked at the Leighton State Bank in Leighton and after moving to Pella was employed at Boot Bookkeeping and Tax Service.
On August 11, 1984 she and Reuben C. Steenhoek were united in marriage in Pella. They both continued to work at Vermeer Manufacturing Company in Pella until they retired in 1988.
Clarice found much pleasure in gardening, canning and cooking and provided her entire family with afghans she had knitted.
On Saturday afternoon, June 5, 1999 she passed away at the Pella Regional Health Center in Pella following a very brief hospital stay. She attained the age of 72 years, six months and three days. Clarice leaves to cherish her memory her husband, Reuben; her three children and their mates and seven grandchildren. Clarice leaves three step-children and their mates and six step-children.
Gilbert Roozeboom was born to Gysbert and Johanna (Hol) Roozeboom on June 18, 1927,
near Olivet, Iowa.
When he was six months old, he and two older brothers contracted polio.
Henry John died on December 1, 1927, but John and Gilbert survived.
From the time Gil was a little child, he loved God, people, and horses.
Gil attended Greeley country school through the eighth grade. He enjoyed playing with his brothers and learning how to farm from his father. While other boys wanted to drive tractors, he preferred working with horses. Gil talked so much that his dad once told him he should become a preacher. He replied, "Get me a team to hitch and manure to pitch." By the time Gil was 13, he had his own team, Charlie and Molly. When he got a saddle horse of his own, he kept vigil all night with a kerosene lantern, waiting for her to foal. In the morning, his mother persuaded him to come in for breakfast. When he returned to the barn, his horse had a beautiful buckskin colt.
The family attended the Tracy Christian Reformed Church until they moved to a farm south of Leighton. They then attended the Leighton Christian Reformed Church, where Gilbert publicly professed his faith at age 18.
Gil and a friend decided to work their way to California, but he made it only as far as northwest Iowa, where he met Bertha Van Zanten. They were married on February 16, 1949, at First Christian Reformed Church in Rock Valley and settled in the Pella area. They first attended Second Christian Reformed Church, and later became charter members of Calvary Christian Reformed Church. God blessed Gil and Bert with six children and later a foster daughter. Gil served as a deacon and elder at Calvary Church and worked tirelessly to start Christian Opportunity Center (COC), serving on its board many times.
While Gil farmed, he held ag-related sales and service positions. He worked for Iowa Breeders Coop for many years and also de-horned cattle for ten years. For 15 years, he sold feed for the Farmers Coop in Pella. He then became a salesman for McNess Company, earning many awards and trips. In 1987, Gil and Bert moved to town. After retiring at 65, Gil worked in maintenance at COC for five years and then mowed the soccer complex for the City of Pella until he was 79. Gil and Bert moved to Vriendschap Village in October of 2015.
Gil lived life at full-speed, whether that was creating memories with his children or driving down country roads on his business routes. He made friends easily and enjoyed visiting with them. He liked cutting wood on his farm near Tracy, woodworking, feeding birds, gardening, and watching sunrises. He had horses most of his life. The family often skimmed over snow on a sleigh, participated in wagon trains, rode around the neighborhood in a buggy, or rode ponies in the pasture. Many people enjoyed Gil's wagon rides at Pella Nursery in the fall or uptown on Thursday evenings in Pella or as newlyweds on their wedding day.
The Lord took Gilbert to his heavenly home on December 31, 2017.
Also grieving Gil's loss are his siblings, Gerrit & Matilda (Sis) Roozeboom of Pella, IA, and Pat (Henry, deceased) Roozeboom of Knoxville, IA; his in-laws Jo Vander Schaaf of Rock Valley, IA, Bill & Margene Van Zanten of Orange City, IA, and Gerald & Jan Van Zanten of Idyllwild, CA, as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and their families.
Gilbert was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Evadena De Bruin; his brothers Henry John, John, Arie, and Henry. His daughter, Joan, passed away on January 12, 2017, and his wife, Bertha, on April 10, 2017.
[Garden Chapel Funeral Home web site]
Bertha Van Zanten, the first child of William and Gertrude Van Zanten, was born on December 30, 1928, near Hawarden, Iowa. She enjoyed growing up on the family farm with her sister, Jo, and her brothers, Bill and Gerald. She recalled her father making their own ropes and repairing their shoes in the evenings, when he wasn’t reading books. She and Jo would each receive a penny for cleaning several dozen eggs, but if one broke, there went their penny. Another weekly chore for the girls was cleaning the chimneys of the kerosene lamps. Bertha received her early education at a Sioux County country school south of Rock Valley.
When she was in seventh grade, the family moved to a farm north of town, where a bus picked up the children and took them to Rock Valley Christian School, from which Bertha graduated as an eighth grader. She vividly remembered hearing the radio broadcast about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941, plunging America into World War II. Like many other teenaged girls, she played her part in the war effort by farming. She assisted her father and others with field work such as plowing.
When she was 17, Bertha publicly professed her faith in Jesus Christ at First Christian Reformed Church in Rock Valley. She moved to Denver, where she assisted with nursing care for tuberculosis victims at Bethesda Sanatorium. After about a year, she returned to northwest Iowa to care for a relative. She then lived in Sioux Falls and worked at the Sioux Valley Hospital during the polio epidemic of 1947-48, when South Dakota experienced the highest per capita rate of polio cases in the nation. Wards were overcrowded and beds were placed in hallways. The hospital’s school for the handicapped was converted to patient rooms. Bertha worked long hours, caring with strength and compassion for regular patients and the many polio victims. The paralyzed in iron lungs ranged from children through adults, and she was particularly touched by a young mother and her baby.
While attending church in Rock Valley one Sunday, she met Gilbert Roozeboom from the Pella area. He was working his way to California, but he never got any farther west. His first impression of Bertha was that she was "kind and beautiful". During their short engagement, Bertha sewed her satin wedding dress with 29 covered buttons. The two were married on February 16, 1949, at First CRC in Rock Valley. They set up housekeeping near Pella, Iowa, where they farmed, first for others and then for themselves, on various places east of town. They initially joined Second Christian Reformed Church in Pella, and later became charter members of Calvary Christian Reformed Church.
God blessed Gilbert and Bertha with six children: Keith Leon, Beverly Kay, Glenda Faye, Joan Beth, Kevin Lee, and Kraig Lyle. A foster daughter, Betty Ann Hess, joined the family later. With the Lord’s help, Bertha raised her family as a humble Proverbs 31 woman. Her focus on Christ fueled her service for others. She sewed clothes for her family, including several dresses and other garments for attendants in her children’s weddings. She enjoyed gardening, raising and preserving vegetables and fruits, but grew mostly flowers in later years. She liked to read, a trait she inherited from her father, although she shared her mother’s easy-going nature. She continued her mother’s tradition of signing letters with, "Love and Prayer." Her warm smile and gentle spirit were uniquely her own.
At Calvary Church, she attended a variety of Bible studies and helped with Friendship Bible Study. She served many years on the Volunteer Corps for Christian Opportunity Center. She cleaned houses, was employed in the factory at Pella Corp, and worked 18 years at Fair Haven. She prayed daily for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Bertha loved God and her family and her garden.
After many years on the family farm four miles east of Pella, Bertha and Gilbert moved to a house in town. In October of 2015, they moved to Vriendschap Village. The Lord took Bertha to her eternal home on April 10, 2017.
Those she leaves behind to cherish her memory include her husband of 68 years, Gilbert, as well as her children and their families:
- Keith and Kate Roozeboom of Pella
Russ and Amanda Roozeboom of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Doug and Heather Roozeboom of Palos Heights, Illinois
Brayden
Justin and Jordan Roozeboom of Broomfield, Colorado
Harper
Schuyler and Corenna Roozeboom of Chicago, Illinois - Beverly and Allen Van Haaften of Pella, Iowa
Spencer and Kate Van Haaften of Des Moines, Iowa
Brynley and Camilla
Kelly and Kevin Jansma of Ankeny, Iowa
Trey, Anderson, and Henry
Miranda Bruxvoort of Des Moines, Iowa
Wyatt - Glenda and David Mathes of Pella, Iowa
Seth and Sarah Mathes of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Gabe, Logan, and Wes
Kirk and Andrea Mathes of Pella, Iowa
Winston
Ariel and Nick Sponsler of Pella, Iowa
Layton, Barrett, and Theo
Bethany and Patrick Stanley of Greenbelt, Maryland
Lucy - Kevin and Alicia Roozeboom of Pella, Iowa
Joshua and Leah Roozeboom of Harrisburg, South Dakota
Abigail, Ashton, Cadence, and Caleb
Joe and Susan Roozeboom of Long Grove, Iowa
Cole and Sadie
Cody and Sarah Roozeboom of Pella, Iowa
Adelaide
- Kraig and Norma Roozeboom of Manhattan, Kansas
Andrew and Jennifer Roozeboom, Manhattan, Kansas
Hendrik
Rachel and Chad Stelk, Manhattan, Kansas
Neyland and Colton
Jonathan Roozeboom of Dallas, Texas
- Betty and Noel Kerr of Pleasantville, Iowa Trenton Emal and fiancée Sarah of Pleasantville, Iowa
[Garden Chapel Funeral Home web site]
Gerrit RoozeboomOctober 9, 1931 - January 31, 2022
Obituary for Gerrit Roozeboom
Gerrit Roozeboom, the son of Gysbert and Johanna (Hol) Roozeboom, was born on Friday, October 9, 1931, in Leighton. Gerrit graduated from Pella Christian High School in 1949. On October 23, 1952, he was united in marriage to Matilda "Sis" Nikkel at the Sully Christian Reformed Church. To this union four sons were born: Dale, Mike, Curt, and Karl.
From April of 1953 to April of 1955, he served as a Corporal in the United States Army stationed in both Camp Polk, Louisiana, and Manhattan, Kansas.
Gerrit farmed for many years, and also served as a custodian at both the Oskaloosa Christian Grade School and First Christian Reformed Church. He worked maintenance at William Penn University after farming, and before retiring. He was a Deacon and an Elder of the First Christian Reformed Church in Oskaloosa, as well as serving as a Cadet Counselor.
His family includes his four sons:
- Dale Roozeboom of Rose Hill, Iowa
Luke and Tiffany Roozeboom
Dylan, Dawson, Daxton
Christy and Beau Browne
Kaden, Devon, Coben, Kalon, Kyson - Mike and Kim (Welch) Roozeboom of Oskaloosa, Iowa
Kari and Joe Flaherty
Keaton and Karter
Kandis and Matt Sherlock
Jack and Presley
- Curt and Cathy (Chamra) Roozeboom of New Sharon, Iowa
Jackie and Don Yarborough
Tripp, Henry, Grace
Kylie and Stephen Groenenboom
Elouise
Corey Roozeboom
- Karl and Cristy (Van Essen) Roozeboom of Pella, Iowa
Kate and Chandler Heisler
Tucker and Grayson
Michael Roozeboom
He was preceded in death by his wife, Matilda; parents Gysbert and Johanna; brothers Arie, Henry, John, Gilbert and Henry. His first brother Henry died young from polio. He also had a sister Evadena.
Memorials may be made to: Oskaloosa Christian Grade School.
April 6, 1934 - October 28, 2021
Obituary for Matilda "Sis" Louise Roozeboom
Matilda "Sis" Louise Roozeboom, 87, of Oskaloosa, died Thursday, October 28, 2021, in Oskaloosa. She was born April 6, 1934, in Sully, Iowa the daughter of John and Lizzie (Baarda) Nikkel. Sis attended Sully Christian Elementary until 8th grade.
On October 23, 1952, she was united in marriage to Gerrit Roozeboom at the Sully Christian Reformed Church. To this union 4 sons were born, Dale, Mike, Curt, and Karl.
Sis was a homemaker for most of her life, caring for her home and raising her 4 sons. She was a member of the First Christian Reformed Church in Oskaloosa. She enjoyed spending time in her vegetable and flower gardens, cooking, camping, and taking fishing trips to Canada. Above all else, she loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren.
Her family includes her husband, Gerrit Roozeboom of Oskaloosa; her 4 sons, Dale Roozeboom of Rose Hill, Mike (Kim) Roozeboom of Oskaloosa, Curt (Cathy) Roozeboom of New Sharon and Karl & (Cristy) Roozeboom of Pella; her grandchildren, Luke (Tiffany) Roozeboom, Christy (Beau) Browne, Kari (Joe) Flaherty, Kandis (Matt) Sherlock, Jackie (Don) Yarbrough, Kylie (Stephen) Groenenboom, Corey Roozeboom, Kate (Chandler) Heisler and Mike Roozeboom; her great grandchildren, Dylan, Dawson and Daxton Roozeboom, Kaiden, Devon, Coben, Kalon and Kyson Browne, Keaton and Karter Flaherty, Jack and Presley Sherlock, Tripp, Henry and Grace Yarbrough, Elouise Groenenboom, and Tucker and Grayson Heisler. Sis is also survived by a brother, Norman (Treva) Nikkel of Searsboro and a sister-in-law, Betty (Mrs. Clair Nikkel) of Laurel.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John, and Lizzie Nikkel; her brothers, Bernie J. Nikkel, Clarence "Clair" Nikkel, Joe Nikkel, and Melvin Nikkel and her sisters, Matilda Nikkel and Louise Nikkel.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. in the First Christian Reformed Church in Oskaloosa with Pastor Jonathon Spronk officiating. Burial will be in the Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa. The Bates Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. Open visitation will begin Monday, November 1, 2021, at 12 noon in the Bates Funeral Chapel and remain open until 7:00 p.m. Monday evening with no family present. Memorials may be made to the Oskaloosa Christian School.