GEORGE A. VAN ROEKEL
Funeral services were held at Bethel Reformed Church at Sheldon June 2 for George A. Van Roekel, 85, retired farmer of Sheldon, who died May 30 at the Sheldon hospital.
Services were conducted by the Rev. William B.MiIler and burial was made in East Lawn cemetery at Sheldon.
Mr. Van Roekel was bom at Orange City November 18, 1883. He was married to Fannie Haagsma at Orange City February 19, 1913.
Survivors Include the widow; two sons, Abe of Council Bluffs and Richard of Baker, Ore.; five daughters, Ada Van Roekel of Lompoc, Calif. , Mrs. Wm. Sinkey of Ashton, Mrs. Earl Benz of Vandenberg , Calif., Mrs. Jake VerMulm of Rock Valley and Miss Bertha Van Roekel at home, a brother, Henry, of Boyden.
Sioux Center News 1969-06-05.
Ada Joan VanRoekel December 2 1920 June 24 2020 (age 99)
Posted on July 1, 2020 by danyDecember 2 1920 June 24 2020 (age 99)
Ada Johanna Van Roekel, was born at home on the farm near Sanborn, Iowa on December
2nd, 1920.
She was the fourth child of George and Fannie Van Roekel.
Ada enjoyed school, earning a ‘Perfect Attendance’ certificate for her elementary
school years.
She attended Ashton High School, graduating in 1939.
Her first car, which she was so proud of, was a 1946 Club Coupe.
Ada took many adventures with friends to Washington, DC, and throughout the Midwest.
Ada was a dedicated employee, working 20 years as a bookkeeper for Seaboard Loans and Avco Financial Services Lompoc, Newport Beach, Santa Barbara and Ventura, California.
Ada was devoted to her family - often caring for her nieces and nephews spending much of her adult life traveling and living nearby her sister Frances’ family in Florida, Maine and California. She spent many hours reading stories and playing games with her nephews Mike, Mark and niece Susan.
Ada gave back to her communities where she lived, volunteering with the USO during WWII, at the Antelope Valley Hospital Gift Shop in Lancaster, California and at the Lutheran churches where she lived. Church life was important to Ada, she was a member of St. Stephens of the Valley Lutheran Church in Palmdale, California.
Ada was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Dorothy Ver Mulm (Jake), Bertha Van Roekel, Nancy Sinkey (Bill), Frances Benz (Earl) and brothers Richard Van Roekel (Shirlee) and Abe (Maxine).
She is survived by her nephews Mike and Deb Benz (Bend, OR), Mark and Nancy Benz (Cathedral City, CA) and niece Sue and Curt Fossum (Sacramento, CA) as well as many other nieces and nephews/great nieces and nephews.
Ada will be missed by all those who knew her - she always had a ready smile and sunny disposition to share with others.
No services are scheduled. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ada Joan VanRoekel, please visit our floral store. Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Ada Joan VanRoekel
Richard VanRoekel
May 4, 1928- Jan. 8, 2009
Richard VanRoekel, 80, died Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at his Hermiston home. His memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's Witnesses, 440 E. Pine Ave., Hermiston. Disposition was by cremation.
Mr. VanRoekel was born May 4, 1928, at Sioux Center, IA, to George Abraham and Fannie (Haagsma) VanRoekel. He was raised in Sheldon, IA. He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. After the service, he moved to Garden Grove, Calif., where he met and married Shirlee Emily Adams. They were married there Aug. 30, 1958.
They moved in 1964 to Baker City, where Mr. VanRoekel worked in construction building roads and buildings. In 1975 they moved to Hermiston, where they have lived since. He was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses and of the Laborers Union Local 121. He enjoyed fishing and camping.
Survivors include Shirlee Emily VanRoekel of Hermiston, his wife of 50 years; sons, Gerald Gene Hesseltine of Baker City; and Richard Mark VanRoekel of Boise, Idaho; daughter, Randy Lynn Sandknop of Boise; brother, Abraham VanRoekel of Minden, IA; three sisters, Dorothy VerMulm of Sandborn, IA; Ada VanRoekel of Palmdale, Calif., and Frances Benz of Pahrump, Nev.; seven grandchildren, Nathan Willems of Colorado Springs, Colo.; Stephen Sandknop of Portland; Ray Hesseltine of Haines; Yon Hesseltine of Concord, Calif.; Christopher VanRoekel of Seattle; Kathrine VanRoekel of Seattle; and Kassandra VanRoekel of The Dalles.
He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Fannie VanRoekel and two sisters, Bertha and Nancy.
Hermiston Herald [Oregon] - Jan/13/2009