John Marvin Van Sloten

Rock Valley, IA: John M. Van Sloten of Rock Valley, Iowa, loving husband and father, passed away peacefully at his home at the age of 86 on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Private funeral services for the family and extended family will be held Monday, March 29, at Faith Reformed Church in Rock Valley with Pastors Keith Sietstra and Mike Molenaar officiating. Interment will follow at the Hope Cemetery in Hull, Iowa. The funeral will be livestreamed on Monday at 10:30 AM at https://www.faithrv.com/. Public visitation will be held Monday from 9:00-10:00 AM at Faith Reformed Church. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the wearing of a mask is strongly encouraged.

   In lieu of flowers, memorials in John’s honor may be made to Hope Haven 1810 19th Street Rock Valley, IA 51247. 

   John Marvin Van Sloten was born on December 11, 1934 in rural Hull, Iowa to Gerrit and Gertrude (Pollema) Van Sloten, the oldest of their four children. John attended Hull public school and graduated in 1952. He then attended Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa and later received his BS degree in accounting from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota. He worked for the IRS in several South Dakota locations for twenty-five years.

   On June 30th, 1960, he married Coreen Bergsma. This union was blessed with four children:  Sheryl, Doug, Susan, and Dave. 

   John was a life-long member of the Reformed Church of America. He had a great love for the Lord. Most recently he has been a member of Faith Reformed Church. He attended the Hull First Reformed Church as he was growing up and throughout the years he had been active in Mitchell Reformed Church and Sioux Falls Community Reformed Church. John was passionate about his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

   When he retired John, Coreen and Susan moved to Rock Valley, Iowa, which was home for 30 years. In Rock Valley he was active in the community as a member and past president of Kiwanis and always had a special place in his heart for Hope Haven. In the church John was a past elder and attended Bible studies faithfully. John will be remembered for his gentle and caring personality. He loved being a father, grandfather, and great grandfather. His kindness and fun-loving ways have always been appreciated by his family and friends.

   Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Coreen; his children, Sheryl (Jerry) Larsen, Canova, South Dakota, Douglas (Kendra) Van Sloten, Decorah Iowa, Susan Van Sloten, Rock Valley, and Dave (Carolyn) Van Sloten, Sturtevant, Wisconsin; grandchildren, Sharese Van Sloten, Bethany (Dustin) Noble, Brett (Samantha) Van Sloten, Hannah Van Sloten, Kevin (Hillary) Larsen, Jeff (Melissa) Larsen, and Steven (Kelsey) Larsen; great-grandchildren, Brenton, Josina and Baby Noble arriving in July, Oliver Van Sloten and Kaylee Larsen; brother, Norm (Bettie) Van Sloten; sister, Winifred Van Veldhuizen; sister-in-law, Barb Van Sloten; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jim and Marge Bergsma; many nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends who were all very important to John.

   John was preceded in death by his father and mother, Gerrit and Gertrude Van Sloten; father-in-law, D.H. Bergsma; mother-in-law, Josina Bergsma Van Veldhuizen; brother, Gary Van Sloten; and brother-in-law, Ed Van Veldhuizen.