Henry W. De Jong, 95, died Sept. 15, 2016, at the Oskaloosa Care Center. Funeral services were held Sept. 19 at Second Christian Reformed Church, Pella. Memorials have been designated for Pella Christian Grade School and Pella Christian High School.
Henry was born Jan. 28, 1921, to Martin and Marie (Van Wyngarden) De Jong near Leighton. Henry attended country schools and Peoria Christian Grade School and graduated from the eighth grade.
Aug. 28, 1946, he was united in marriage to Jeannetta Veenstra at the Peoria Christian Reformed Church. To this union four children were born.
The family lived on a farm north of Peoria until Henry and Jeannetta moved to Pella in 1979. In his “retirement,” Henry worked at the Pella Nursery and as groundskeeper for Eunice Kuyper-Folkerts for several years until Jeannetta needed his assistance full-time. He also helped his son on the farm, still hauling in grain at the age of 85.
Henry served on the Peoria Christian School Board. He also served on the council at Peoria and Second Christian Reformed Church in Pella, where he was a member at the time of his death.
Those left to cherish his memory are his children: Cathy (Gregg) De Young of Cairo, Egypt, Mary (Richard) Teachout of Pella, and Junior (Linda) De Jong of Lynnville; his daughter-in-law, Marcia (Gary) De Jong-Wouterse of Pella; 14 grandchildren; 36 great-grandchildren; and a brother Wilbur (Marilyn) De Jong.
He was preceded in death by his wife Jeannetta in 2011; his parents; his son Myron in 1994; his sister Wilma in infancy; his siblings and their spouses: James and Nellie De Jong and Cornelia and Lambert Veenstra; and a great-grandson Collin De Vries.
