Cornelius "Cornie" De Haan

INWOOD, IOWA ~ Cornelius “Cornie” De Haan, 95, of rural Inwood, died on Sunday, September 1, 2024, at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

 Funeral Service will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, September 6, 2024, at Christian Reformed Church in Inwood, Iowa with Rev. David Smit officiating. Burial with military rites will follow at Richland Cemetery at Inwood. Visitation with the family will be from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Porter Funeral Home in Inwood. Condolences may be sent to www.porterfuneralhomes.com. The funeral service will be live streamed at https://www.facebook.com/InwoodCRC/. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial gifts be designated for Fellowship Village or the Inwood Christian School.

Cornelius De Haan “Cornie” was born on April 22, 1929, in Hawarden, Iowa, to Gerrit and Adriana (De Graff) De Haan. He grew up on the family farms. He attended country school through the 8th grade and later received his GED from NCC in Sheldon, Iowa.

Cornie began working as a farm hand as a young teenager. At the age of 22 he was drafted into the United States Army where he served two years active duty followed by Army reserve. He was stationed stateside during the Korean War and received his honorable discharge as a Sargeant on October 1, 1959.

On October 8, 1953, he was united in marriage to Viola Boersma at the Inwood Christian Reformed Church. For a short time, they lived in Sioux Falls where he was employed by John Morrell Packing Plant. They then moved to their farm north of Inwood where he lived until becoming a resident at Fellowship Village on July 9, 2024. Cornie was a member of the Inwood Christian Reformed Church.

Cornie enjoyed all aspects of farming and had a remarkable memory of his years as a farmer. He was a salesman for DeKalb Seeds for 25 years. He was an avid reader and liked doing Sudoku puzzles as well as jigsaw puzzles. He also enjoyed playing Bingo at Fellowship Village and visiting with his caregivers and fellow residents. You would often find him with his favorite can of Diet Mountain Dew on his chairside table. Cornie loved his family and spending time with them was precious to him.

Left to cherish his memory are his son, Don, of Inwood; daughter, Bonnie (Mike) Knobloch of Inwood; 2 grandchildren, Valerie (Steve) Faber of Inwood and Geoff (Elise) Knobloch of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; 6 great-grandchildren, Dana (Riley) Jeltema of Orange City, Iowa, Evan Faber of Inwood, and Ben, Jake, Drew, and Lily Knobloch of Sioux Falls; 1 great-great-granddaughter, Parker Grace Jeltema; brother, Gary (Donna) De Haan of Sioux Center, Iowa; sisters, Betty Valentine of Sioux Center and Marie Ekdom of Pipestone, Minnesota; 2 sisters-in-law, Pauline De Haan of Sioux Center and Thressa De Haan of Grandville, Michigan; nieces, nephews, and other extended family members.

 Preceding him in death were his wife, Viola; his parents; brothers. John and Tony; sisters, Tilly Pasma and her husband Orv and Judy Westra and her husband Marv; brothers-in-law, Wayne Ekdom and Warren Valentine; and sister-in-law, Ella Mae Kooistra and her husband Willis.