Obituaries

Frances De Jong

Mrs. Frances De Jong, age 89, of Alton, passed away on Friday, April 11, 2014, at the Cherokee Regional Medical Center in Cherokee.

There will be a memorial service on Monday, April 14, at 11:00 am, at the Alton Reformed Church in Alton, with The Rev. Scott Bonestroo officiating.  Interment will be prior to the service at the Nassau Township Cemetery near Alton.  There will be a family prayer service on Monday, at 10:00 am, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Visitation will be after 3:00 pm on Sunday, with the family present from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, at the funeral home.

The Oolman Funeral Home of Orange City is in charge of the arrangements for 89-year old Mrs. Frances De Jong of Orange City.

Frances Elizabeth was born on May 27, 1924, in rural Alton, the daughter of Gerrit and Mildred (Ruisch) Beltman. She was raised on the family farm near Alton, where she graduated from the Alton Public School. She also attended the Northwestern Junior College in Orange City for two years.

On October 12, 1945, she married Raymond Lester De Jong on the Beltman farm. Except for a short time in California, when he was serving in the military, they made their home in Alton. She was a homemaker and assisted her husband when he was the custodian at the Alton Reformed Church. Ray passed away on April 11, 2006, in Orange City, after more than sixty years of marriage and exactly eight years before Frances.

In September of 2006, Mrs. De Jong moved to the Pioneer Memorial Home in Orange City. Just recently, she transferred to the Careage Hills Care Center in Cherokee.

She was a member of the Alton Reformed Church, where she participated in all the usual activities. She enjoyed playing card games, especially bridge, and liked solving word puzzles.

Survivors include her daughter and her husband, Mary and Mark Groher, of Cherokee; a son and his wife, Leon and Marilyn De Jong, of Omaha, Nebraska; four grandchildren, Michael Groher, and his wife, Sara, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Elizabeth, and her husband, Matthew Smith, of Cherokee; Jonathan De Jong, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Rebecca, and her husband Kevin Walters, of Omaha; six great-grandchildren, Elise, Reid, Adelia, and Maren Groher; and Genevieve and Truman Walters; and a brother and his wife, Orville and Marge Beltman, of Orange City.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by two sisters, Arlene, and her husband, Bert Gesink; and Myrna Beltman; and a sister-in-law, Edna Beltman.

Memorials will be directed to the Pioneer Memorial Home and the Alton Reformed Church.

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