Winnifred Arlene De Jong

IRETON, IOWA ~ Winnifred Arlene De Jong, 93, of Sioux Center, Iowa, formerly of Ireton, Iowa, passed away on Friday, April 28, 2023, at Sioux Center Health.

   Memorial Service will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at Ireton Christian Reformed Church in Ireton, Iowa with Rev. Nate Kuperus officiating. The committal service will begin at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday at the church, with a procession to Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Ireton. Visitation with the family will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday at the church. The Porter Funeral Home is assisting the family. Condolences may be sent to www.porterfuneralhomes.com.

   The family prefers memorials be directed to the Ireton Christian School.

   Winnifred Arlene (Vande Kamp) De Jong was born August 12, 1929, to George and Celia (Vanden Berg) Vande Kamp on a farm near Ireton, Iowa.

   Winnifred married Alfred J. De Jong on February 6, 1950, and moved to Minnesota to farm until Alfred was called to the Army. At that time, Winnifred moved back to Ireton. In 1953 they moved back to a farm near Mc Nally, later west of Ireton, and later east of Ireton. In 1972 they moved into Ireton. Winnifred babysat neighbor children, waitressed at the local café, and worked in the Ireton Locker.

   After Alfred retired, they enjoyed traveling and made many trips to Michigan and New Hampton to visit children and grandchildren.

   Alfred passed away in 2017 and in 2018 Winnifred moved to the Regency in Sioux Center and in 2022 moved to Crown Point Care Center.

   Winnifred was a lifetime member of the Ireton Christian Reformed Church.

   Those left to cherish her memory are her 5 children:  Alma (Ron) Schaap of Sioux Center, Iowa; Gloria (Lou) Kingma of Hawarden, Iowa; Lavonne (Dave) Van Oort of New Hampton, Iowa; Dennis (Lin) De Jong of  Rock Valley, Iowa; and Karen (Greg) TeHennepe of Byron Center, Michigan; 14 grandchildren; 34 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great- grandchildren.

   Winnifred is also survived by 2 brothers:  Allan (Marlene) Vande Kamp of Rock Valley and Vernon (Leona) Vande Kamp of Orange City, Iowa; 2 sisters: Geraldine Van Holland of Rock Valley and Norma (Nelson) Nikkel of Pella, Iowa; 3 sisters-in-law: Harriet Vande Kamp of Rock Valley; Marla Vande Kamp of Orange City, and Darla Vander Wilt of Hospers, Iowa.

   She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Celia Vande Kamp; husband, Alfred J. De Jong; siblings and their spouses:  Gerrit and Priscilla Vande Kamp, Hilbert and Loraine Vande Kamp, Geneva and Leonard Vande Bosch, Marvin Vande Kamp, George Vande Kamp, John T. Van Holland, and Celia and Marvin Ten Napel; and 2 great- grandchildren.