Geraldine Vande Vegte

DUE TO THE WEATHER GERALDINE'S SERVICE WILL BE HELD ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2022.

   Geraldine Vande Vegte, 84, of Inwood, IA, passed away peacefully on Friday, December 2, 2022, at Good Samaritan in Sioux Falls, SD.

   Funeral Service will be 11 a.m. SATURDAY, December 24, 2022, at the First Christian Reformed Church in Inwood with Rev. Adam Eisenga officiating. A burial will follow in the Richland Township Cemetery at Inwood. Visitation with the family present will be from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. SATURDAY at the First Christian Reformed Church in Inwood. The Porter Funeral Home in Inwood is assisting the family. Condolences may be sent to www.porterfuneralhomes.com. In lieu of flowers and gifts, memorials may be directed to area Christian schools. The funeral service will be livestreamed on the church website inwoodcrc.org.

   Geraldine Joan Van't Hul was born October 14, 1938, to Bert and Gertrude (Van Maanen) Van't Hul on a farm 3-1/2 miles east of Rock Valley.  She grew up in a loving home with eleven siblings. She attended Rock Valley Christian School from grades 1 thru 10 and then Western Christian High School. She graduated in 1956 and that summer enrolled at Westmar College in Le Mars, IA to study elementary education. She began teaching 1st and 2nd grades that fall at Lebanon Christian School.  In the summer of 1957, she took additional education classes in Sioux Falls, SD. She continued teaching at Lebanon Christian School for two more years and later substituted at Inwood Christian School.

    Geraldine was united in marriage to Norman Vande Vegte on November 19, 1958.  They lived on an acreage between Rock Valley and Lebanon for a short time before they started farming SW of Inwood.  In 1966 they moved to a farm SE of Inwood, and in 1975 they settled onto the homeplace NE of Inwood where they raised their three boys until 1994 when they moved into town due to Norm's Parkinsons and declining health.  Norm passed away in March 2009.

    Geraldine was a very active farmer's wife, she found great joy working alongside her family.  She enjoyed tending to the newborn pigs.  She worked her way up pulling a 5-bottom plow with a 1755 Oliver, and she also hauled and unloaded ear corn for many harvest seasons.  She liked things to be well-kept, that included maintaining a clean house, mowing and weeding outside and making sure all the farm buildings were routinely painted. She also enjoyed playing games and especially Scrabble, even having her own Scrabble dictionary passed down from a dear friend. Geraldine was a great cook and baker and did not miss making a Sunday dinner for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  We can't begin to count the number of meals and lunches she made over the years, and most everything she made was from scratch and according to the handwritten recipes cards of which she had many. She loved making her own buns for Sunday dinners, and she always had more than enough. She also made the most incredible chocolate chip cookies and kept them in her deep freeze for whenever someone stopped in to visit. Geraldine was a teacher at heart. She really never stopped teaching. She read to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and helped them with their spelling words and piano lessons. Geraldine was a simple lady; but she was extraordinary in the way she served, and she tirelessly served until she moved into Fellowship Village in April 2021.

    Norman and Geraldine had many wonderful memories with the "Inwood gang" including playing Hand and Foot and 16 Card Rummy on holidays, vacationing together, and even pulling a prank from time to time.

    Geraldine and Norman were active members at the Inwood Christian Reformed Church since the early 1960's.  She sang in the church choir, taught Sunday School to grade school kids, attended Women's Bible study for many years, and volunteered in many ways including being one of the "cookie ladies". Her strong faith was evident throughout her life.

    God, family, and friends were most important to Geraldine.  When her sons were young, she took interest in them learning Bible verses for Sunday School and Day School.  She also challenged her sons to do their very best in all their schoolwork.  Her influence continued as her sons married and started their own careers and families, she didn't always say a lot, she often chose to lead by example.

    She is survived by her three sons

Glenn (Julie) Vande Vegte of Inwood and their children:

Matt & Leah Vande Vegte and their children, Jason, Derek, Jacob, Wendy, and Wren of Inwood

Jill (Brent) Vander Werff and their daughters, Sydney, Gabriella, Summer, and Gracie of Sanborn, IA

Galen (Julie) Vande Vegte of Inwood and their children:

Ryan & Katie Vande Vegte and their daughters, Anna, Aleah, and Avery of Rock Valley, IA

Kim (Brian) Nibbelink and their daughters, Ellie, and Emery of San Antonio. TX

Kelsey (Jim) Garofalo and their son, Easton of Colorado Springs, CO

Kenzie (Andrew) Hoekstra and their children, Parker, Miles, and Graham of Hull, IA

Kayla Vande Vegte & fiancé, Dan Brandt of Albert Lea, MN

Gary (Amy) Vande Vegte of Orange City, IA and their children:

Loken & Erin Vande Vegte and their son, Benson of Oskaloosa, IA

Micah (Aaron) Stark of Champlin, MN

Cole & Lauren Vande Vegte of Minneapolis, MN

Blake Vande Vegte of Orange City, IA

Amaya Vande Vegte of Orange City, IA

   Those left to cherish her memory include her sister, Harriet Vande Kamp, brother and his wife, Harlan (Mary) Van't Hul, and sister-in-law, Carol Van't Hul all of Rock Valley, IA, brother and his wife, Orville (Arlene) Van't Hul of Hull, IA; sisters and their husbands, Joyce (Fred) Smit of Sioux Falls, SD, and Joanne (Rod) De Weerd of Sioux Center, IA; sister-in-law, Judy Vande Vegte of Rock Valley, IA; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Helen (Arie) Byl of Sioux Center, IA; and brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Arthur (Anita) Van Ravenhorst all of Sioux Center, IA; and numerous nieces and nephews.

    She was preceded in death by her parents, Bert and Gertrude (Van Maanen) Van't Hul;  husband, Norman; her brother and his wife Lawrence and Maxine Van't Hul; her sisters and their husbands, Dorothy and George Van Beek and Albertha and Louis Altena; her brother-in-law, Marv Vande Kamp; her brother, Gerald Junior Van't Hul; young sisters who died in childhood, Joyce and Joan (Geraldine's twin) Van't Hul; her parents-in-law, Henry and Rolena Vande Vegte; her brother-in-law John Vande Vegte; and her sister-in-law, Mary Ann Van Ravenhorst.

Geraldine's family would like to invite everyone for a time of food and fellowship at the church following the committal service.