Henry “Clifford” Top, age 95, of Orange City, passed away on Monday, February 3, 2014, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.
There will be a memorial service on Thursday, February 6, at 11:00am, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. Tim Breen will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service at the Newkirk Cemetery. There will be a prayer service on Thursday, at 9:30am, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.
Visitation will be after 4:00pm on Wednesday, with the family present from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the funeral home.
The Oolman Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements for Henry “Clifford” Top.
Clifford, son of Gerrit and Nellie (Popma) Top, was born October 21, 1918 on a farm north of Alton, Iowa.
Clifford would later make the same farm his own, where he would raise his family.
Clifford was drafted into the United States Army in September of 1942. He took his basic training at Camp Callan near San Diego, California, and after a brief assignment protecting the Boeing B17 plant in Seattle and an assignment in Kansas and Georgia he left for France where he began his assignment in the European theatre of World War II. Clifford’s specific training in radio communications would lead to his proficiency in Morse Code. Clifford would journey to Frankfurt, Germany, where he joined the 3rd Army under General Patton. In 1946 Clifford returned home to his family farm, where he would spend the next 43 years of his life. In 1989 Clifford retired from farming and
moved to Orange City.
Clifford married his wife of 71 years, Sophia Irene Bomgaars, on December 10, 1942 in La Jolla, California. Clifford and Sophia were members of the Newkirk Reformed Church for many years, before moving to Orange City and becoming members of the First Reformed Church in Orange City. In addition to his many years of farming, Clifford drove school bus seventeen years for the Floyd Valley School District. He also worked with the maintenance department in that same school system. Later Cliff would work for the maintenance department at Northwestern College in Orange City. Cliff was a member of the Newkirk Consistory, the Newkirk School board, and a member of the board at AMPI in Sibley, Iowa.
Clifford enjoyed golf, vacationing in Phoenix, handy work, dancing, but especially his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Survivors include his wife; five sons and their wives, Norlan and Rose from Arnolds Park, Kenneth and Jan from Denver, Colorado, Robert from Sun Lakes, Arizona, Loren and Tammi from Rock Rapids, and Dave and Melinda from Loveland, Colorado; eleven grandchildren and their spouses, Doug (Amy) Top from Sioux Falls, SD, Laura (Terry) Torkildson from Sioux Falls, Kenndra Top from Thousand Oaks, CA, Chad (Gretchen) Scott from Sioux Falls, Chris (Misty) Scott from Houston, TX, Chuck (Teresa) Scott from Sioux Falls, Adam (Crystal) Top from Sun Lakes, AZ, Jennifer (Monty) Prins from Sioux Center, IA, Jonathan Top from Orange City, IA, Adam (Sandi) Brock from Loveland, CO, and Mandi Brock from LeMars, IA; and eighteen great-grandchildren.
In addition to his parents, Clifford was preceded in death by a daughter-in-law Cindy Top, a great-grandson, Ayden Prins; and two sisters, Winifred (Arie) Bomgaars and Kathryn (Henry) Bomgaars.
Memorials will be directed to the Orange City Area Home Health and Hospice.
