Obituaries

John Vander Sluis, age 81, of Sheldon, Iowa passed away on Sunday, January 5, 2014 at the Promise Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.

His services will be 10:30am Friday, January 10, 2014 at the United Methodist Church in Sheldon, Iowa with Rev. Kevin Gingerich officiating. Burial will be in the East Lawn Cemetery in Sheldon, Iowa

Visitation will be after 2:00pm Thursday, January 9, 2014 with the family present from 5:00 – 7:00pm at the Vander Ploeg Funeral Home in Sheldon, Iowa.

The Vander Ploeg Funeral Home in Sheldon is in charge of Arrangements

Online memorial condolences may be sent to: vanderploegfunerals.com

 John Gordon Vander Sluis, the son of John and Cora (Veldboom) Vander Sluis was born on May 19, 1932 in Orange City, Iowa.  He attended country school in Sanborn, Iowa and graduated from Archer High School in 1950. On July 16, 1951 John was united in marriage to Marlys Koepnick in Worthington, Minnesota. After their marriage the couple farmed by Archer until moving into Archer in 1987. They lived in Archer for twenty years and moved to Sheldon in 2006. The couple wintered in Mesa, Arizona for the past eighteen winters.  John passed away on Sunday, January 5, 2014 at the Promise Hospital of Phoenix, Arizona reaching the age of 81 years, 7 months and 16 days.

John was a member of Archer United Methodist Church and currently a member of Sheldon United Methodist Church. He served on many boards which included: Archer Coop, REC, Handicap Village, Farmers Coop Oil, Security State Bank, Archer United Methodist Church and was the condo President in Sheldon.  He never knew a stranger as he always had a handshake for everyone. He never lost a bid playing cards. He enjoyed golfing, traveling, farming, his farm dog, Abby and spending time with his family, grandchildren and great grandchildren; he loved everyone.

Left to cherish John’s memory is his wife of 62 years, Marlys Vander Sluis of Sheldon; children, Connie Schieber of Omaha, Nebraska; Randy and his wife, Pam Vander Sluis of Archer, Iowa; LuAnn and her husband, John Beckel of Des Moines and Becky Brown; eleven grandchildren, Jon Paul (Sarah) Schieber, Cori (Chris) Miller, Matt (Stacy) Schieber, Karrie Vander Sluis, Lorrie (Don) McDonald, Greg (Jenni) Vander Sluis, Adam (Angie) Beckel, Megan Beckel, Scott (Mandi) Koerselman, Nate (Cory) Koerselman and Ashley Irving; nineteen great grandchildren; brother, Les and his wife, Bev Douma of Orange City, Iowa; sisters-in-law, Phyllis and LaVonne Vander Sluis.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Harold and Ron Vander Sluis.

Donna Kreber, 51 years old, of Granville, IA, died Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014, after a long courageous fight with cancer at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, IA.

Funeral service will be 10:30 a.m., Sat. Jan. 11, 2014 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Granville with Rev. Tim Hogan officiating and Rev. Terry Roder concelebrating. Burial will be in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Granville.

Visitation will be anytime after 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, 2014, there will be a parish rosary at 5 p.m. and a vigil prayer service at 7 p.m. all at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Granville.

Services have been entrusted to Fisch Funeral Home & Monument in Remsen, IA. Condolences may be sent online to www.fischfh.com.

Donna was born March 7, 1962, at Sheldon, IA, the daughter of Dennis and Shirley (Wimmer) Krogman. She was raised and educated in Sheldon. She attended both St. Pat’s Elementary and graduated from Sheldon High School in 1980.
On March 17, 1984 she married Alan Kreber at St.Anthony’s Catholic Church in Hospers, IA. Over the years Donna worked at Babcock Locker in Alton, she cooked at both Spalding Catholic School in Granville and Staples in Orange City.
She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and church guild. She enjoyed bowling, fishing, camping, the Vikings and especially her grandkids.

Those left to cherish her memory are her husband Alan of Granville; her son Adam Kreber and his special friend Emily Potts of Sutherland, IA; her daughter Angela (Derek) Plagge of Primghar, IA; four grandchildren, Jaden and Kaylin Kreber, Raegan and Aria Plagge; her seven siblings, Ron Krogman and his fiancé Tammy Kruse of Germantown, IA, Larry (Brenda) Krogman of Ashton, IA, Sharon Krogman of Sheldon, IA, Carol (Terry) Jungers of Hospers, IA, Wayne (Jeanne) Krogman of Sibley, IA, Charlotte Roos of Hospers, IA, her twin sister, Darla (Wayne) Strampe of Germantown, IA; 23 nieces and nephews; 50 great nieces and nephews.

Preceded by: three infant siblings, Linda, Lane and Glen, her mother and father-in-law, Clarence and Hilda Kreber, her sister-in-law, Marianne Jochum, her brother-in-law, Dennis “Punk” Roos, her niece Heather Krogman, and her nephew, Cody Krogman.
Casket bearers will be Kurt List, Rich Gaul, Chris Gesink, Dale Jungers, Jeff Jochum, Jason Kreber.

Honorary bearers will be Jayne Balch, Amber Hohbach, Brittany Koerselman.

Donations can be made to The American Cancer Society.

Mrs. Sylvia Lubbers, age 101, of Orange City, passed away on Saturday, January 4, 2014, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

There will be a memorial service on Friday, January 10, at 11:00 am, at the Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. Jonathan Opgenorth and the Rev. Randal Lubbers will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. There will be a family prayer service on Friday, at 10:00 am, at the church.

Visitation will be after 4:00 pm on Thursday, with the family present from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, at the church. Arrangements are with the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Sylvia was born on March 9, 1912, at Hull, the daughter of Henry Peter and Nellie (Van Wyk) Vos. She was raised north of Hull, where she graduated from high school. She then earned a teaching certificate and taught in a country school.

On June 16, 1933, she married Edward John Lubbers at Doon. They farmed near Orange City, where she was a homemaker. About 1968, they moved into Orange City, and in 1999, they became residents of the Landsmeer Ridge Retirement Community there. “Ed” passed away on June 23, 2005, in Orange City, after more than 72 years of marriage.

In April of 2012, Mrs. Lubbers transferred to the Hertiage House Nursing Home and later the Prairie Ridge Care Center, both in Orange City.

She was a member of the Trinity Reformed Church, where she participated in all the women’s organizations. She also belonged to the garden division of the Orange City Women’s Club.

She enjoyed sewing and flower gardening.

Survivors include her son and his wife, J. Charles “Chuck” and Arlene Lubbers, of Orange City; two daughters, Phyllis Nelms, of Long Beach, California; and Laura, and her husband, Rod Mulder, of Estes Park, Colorado; eight grandchildren, who called her “Ome”, Randy Lubbers; Dan Lubbers, and his wife, Kavita; Karen Lubbers; David Nelms; Matthew Nelms, and his wife, Isabel; Curt Mulder, and his wife, Carrie; Linda, and her husband, Greg Smith; and Jane, and her husband, Derek Brouwer; sixteen great-grandchildren, John Charles Lubbers III, and his wife, Steph; Elyse Lubbers; Luke Lubbers; Steven Lubbers; Sunita Lubbers; Stephanie Van Ommeren; Michelle, and her husband, Scott Van Wyngarden; Elisabeth, and her husband, Heath Reichle; Katherine Nelms; Harrison Nelms; Steven Mulder; Kelsie Mulder; Margaret Smith; Andrew Smith; Derek Brouwer III; and Jeremy Brouwer; and five great-great grandchildren, Lorelei Lubbers, Alison Van Wyngarden, Nathan Van Wyngarden, Lyla Reichle, and Keller Reichle.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by a granddaughter-in-law, Carolyn Lubbers; three brothers and eight sisters, who called her “Todd”.

Memorials will be directed to the Trinity Reformed Church Building Fund.