Cornie Van Hal, 91, of Pella, passed away Jan. 21, 2025. Interment was at 9 a.m., Friday, Jan. 24, in Evergreen Cemetery, Leighton, followed by memorial service at 10:30 a.m. at Calvary Christian Reformed Church, Pella. Memorials have been designated for Calvary CRC - Video Ministry and Peoria Christian School.
Cornelius James “Cornie” Van Hal was born Jan. 12, 1934, to Jacob and Dena (Spoelstra) Van Hal on the family farm west of Sully where he grew up. He received his education at Sully Christian School and graduated from Sully High School in 1952.
Cornie worked at Sully Co-op Creamery until he entered the U.S. Army from September 1955 to 1957 and continued his military commitment in the National Guard until 1963. He was a member of the American Legion Post 89.
Cornie was baptized and made profession of faith at Sully Christian Reformed Church and was a current member of Calvary Church.
Cornie met Marinella Hoksbergen in August 1955 and was married Oct. 18, 1957, at the Second Christian Reformed Church in Pella. They were blessed with three children: Carla, Arvin, and Roger.
He worked at Vermeer Manufacturing until 1963, then they started farming by Leighton on the Hoksbergen family farm, where he was a dairy farmer for 29 years. Cornie retired in 1998 when they moved to Pella. He enjoyed driving cars for various car dealers and going to coffee with the guys at McDonald’s.
In November 2006, Cornie suffered a stroke and had to relearn every-day things again. He continued to do well until he fell in 2022 and couldn’t be taken care of by Marinella. He then entered Northern Mahaska Care Center in Oskaloosa.
He was preceded in death by his parents Jacob and Dena Van Hal, parents-in-law Peter and Henrietta Hoksbergen, sisters Sophia and Don Bennink, Evelyn and Jim Vanden Oever, and Jennie and Helene Van Hal; brothers Geurt, Gerrit, Raymond, and Jerry Van Hal; brothers-in-law Glenn Summers and Dale Van Genderen; and sister-in-law Dorothy Hoksbergen.
Those left to cherish his memory are his wife Marinella of 67 years; their children Carla (Byron) Vander Molen of Lynnville, Arvin (Brenda) Van Hal of Pella, and Roger (Lanai) Van Hal of Leighton; seven grandchildren; five great-grand-children and one due in February; his siblings Darlene Summers of West Des Moines and Nancy (Carl) Jensen of Golden, CO; sisters-in-law Carolyn Van Hal of Homer Glen, IL, Shirley, Ruth, and Darlene Van Hal all of Pella, Betty Van Genderen and special friend Gerald Nunnikhoven of Pella, and brother-in-law Robert Hoksbergen of Grundy Center.
