Gerrit Junior Niemeyer

Gerrit Junior Niemeyer (84) of Inwood, IA passed away peacefully Monday, July 15, 2024 at Alcester Care and Rehab Center in Alcester, SD. Memorial Service will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, July 20, 2024, at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, rural Inwood, Iowa, with Pastor Jamie Mogler officiating. Visitation with the family will be from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. prior to the service and also at the luncheon following the service. Private family inurnment will take place at Richland Cemetery at Inwood.  The Porter Funeral Home in Inwood is assisting the family.

Gerrit was born at home to Oepke and Henrietta (Zomermaand) Niemeyer on September 23, 1939. He was the oldest of five children and grew up helping the family farm. He attended and completed country school a mile from the farm. Gerrit served in the Iowa Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves from 1957 to 1963.

He was united in marriage to Patricia “Pat” Vande Kieft on December 16, 1959 at the First Reformed Church in Inwood. The pair had met candling eggs and later welcomed four boys to their union. Together they enjoyed driving across the country, square dancing and socializing, and spending time with family in Arizona and California. Gerrit also enjoyed fishing trips with his sons to Canada and closer to home, and he was an avid deer hunter on his own land. 

After they were married, Gerrit and Pat farmed with his uncle Bernard for a few years. The family moved to a farm in Howard in 1962 and returned to the Inwood area in 1964. Gerrit started an independent local livestock and grain hauling business for a short while before launching Niemeyer Trucking with a single semi truck. He owned and operated the business for 13 years, expanding to 10 trucks and numerous employees. He later drove for other carriers including Action Carriers, Apple Lines, Thompson Brothers and Mail Carriers of America for many years while farming with the family. During this time, Pat and the boys accompanied Gerrit on his routes on countless occasions.

As a point of pride, Gerrit received numerous awards from carriers he worked for his accident free driving safety. He participated in the South Dakota Trucking Association Truck Driving Championships winning 1st and 2nd place in the five-axle flat bed class in 1988 and 1991, respectively. Gerrit also participated in a National Truck Driving Championship competition and was once awarded a National Champion Trophy.

In 1973, Pat and Gerrit purchased her family’s farm and farmed together until their retirement. Along with dairy cows, Gerrit had a Limousine cow/calf operation whose feeder calves took top dollar at auction every year. The pair also raised hogs, chickens, an abundant garden, and a variety of grain crops. They remained on the farm until moving to assisted living in Sioux Falls in 2018. Gerrit later moved to Alcester Care and Rehab Center where he lived the remainder of his life. 

Along with his wife, Gerrit was proud of his children and grandchildren, encouraging their faith and supporting their many activities when they could. He especially enjoyed when his grandkids visited the farm from up the interstate or just down the road. Gerrit so loved meeting and getting to know each great-grandchild as the family grew. He was also a foundational support and mentor to their vast network of extended family and neighbors.

He is survived by his wife, Pat; sons Oepke (Beth) Niemeyer, Douglas (Kristin) Niemeyer, and Grant (Jane) Niemeyer; grandchildren Jessica Page, Andrew (Sarah) Niemeyer, Margo Niemeyer, Adam Niemeyer, Carmen (Sam Brovold) Niemeyer, Jennifer (Tyler) Grilley, Opal, Sophia, Hazel, and William Niemeyer; great-grandchildren Olivia, Julia, and Jackson Page, Jadalyn Grilley, Baylor Niemeyer, Iris Brovold, Taliana Grilley, and Ford Niemeyer; brother Harold (Lorraine) Niemeyer, brother-in-law Robert “Bob” (LaVerna) Jacobsma, and sister-in-law Marty (Paul) Niemeyer Antoine; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Gerrit was preceded in death by his parents, Oepke and Henrietta Niemeyer; sister Johanna “Joann” Jacobsma; brothers Edwin (Marilyn) Niemeyer and Bernard “Bernie” Niemeyer; and son Patrick in infancy.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to McCrossan Boys Ranch or a charity of donor’s choice.