Betty J. (Roose) Jochems, 90, formerly of Peoria, passed away Friday, Nov. 13, 2020, at The Cottages in Pella just two days before her 91st birthday. Private family funeral service was held Tuesday, Nov. 17, at Peoria Christian Reformed Church. Interment followed in Peoria Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be designated for the mission fund of Peoria Christian Reformed Church.
Betty Jeanne Roose was born Nov. 15, 1929, on a farm west of Peoria. She was the first child born to John A. and Ella (Nieuwsma) Roose. Her brother Afton and sister Shirley later joined the family. Betty attended Peoria Christian School and Pella Christian High School, graduating in 1947. After high school, Betty’s employers were Schiebout Tire and Pella National Bank in Pella where she worked as a bookkeeper. As a young woman after a Sunday evening church service in Peoria, she accepted a ride home from a young man named Peter Richard Jochems. They dated for a few months before Pete was drafted into the United States Army and continued their relationship during his deployment overseas during the Korean War. Pete was wounded and awarded a Purple Heart in November 1952.
Feb. 4, 1954, they were united in marriage at Peoria Christian Reformed Church and to this union three children were born: Gary John, James Alan, and Beverly LuAnn. Betty and Pete made their first home east of Newton were Betty worked at the Jasper County Bank. They later moved to a rental farm southeast of Peoria, close to New Sharon, where they raised grain crops, pigs, chickens, milked cows, and several litters of Spitz puppies. In the mid-1960s, they moved to another rental farm northwest of Peoria, which they later purchased. They made their home there the next 40+ years, and they were living there when Pete passed away on Jan. 22, 2017. Betty was an active farmer’s wife, including pulling pigs and sorting cattle, but did not drive tractors. Betty had a very large vegetable garden and flower garden and enjoyed summer evenings working outside. She sewed dresses, suits, pantsuits, banquet dresses for Beverly, and later doll clothes for her granddaughters. Betty and Pete enjoyed traveling to see relatives in different states and a few camping trips. The Great Smoky Mountains and different sites in Wisconsin were some of Betty’s favorites.
She was a member of Peoria Christian Reformed Church where she was a member of the Persis Ladies Aid group, the treasurer, helped with Dutch Psalm sings, and was mission-focused. Betty moved to Fair Haven East in Pella following Pete’s death in 2017. She enjoyed getting reacquainted with old friends and making new ones. In late 2018, she relocated to Jefferson Place where music programs and travel programs were still her favorite and continued a lifelong enjoyment of reading. Betty had many blessings during her life and in addition to the loss of her husband, Pete, endured the sad loss of her son Jim at the age of 49 in 2006.
Her family continued to grow through the years and includes: Gary and Carol (Kelderman) Jochems of Sully, Barbara (Geerdes) Jochems of Pella, Beverly Rossow of Newton, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“Grandma’s house” was a family gathering place for decades - Sunday dinners, holidays, and wiener roasts are all fondly remembered.
Betty also leaves her brother, Afton Roose of Princeton, TX; a brother-in-law, Harry (Joyce) Jochems and a sister-in-law, Betty (Jochems) Westbrook, all of Newton.
She was preceded in death by her husband Pete, son Jim, her parents, her sister Shirley and her husband James Cormicle, sister-in-law Rita (Afton) Roose, her parents-in-law Gerrit and Jennie (Bruxvoort) Jochems and Emma (Van Wyk) Jochems, and brother-in-law, Duane Westbrook.
