Lorena Tennapel

Lorena TenNapel, 98, of Brandon, SD, formerly of Sioux Center, IA, died Sunday, April 19, 2015, at Bethany Home in Brandon. A visitation with the family present will be held on Tuesday from 5-8PM, with the family present from 6-8PM at First Reformed Church of Sioux Center, IA. A funeral service will be held on Wednesday at 10:00AM at the First Reformed Church of Sioux Center with Rev. Travis Else officiating. Interment will follow the funeral service in Memory Gardens Cemetery of Sioux Center. The Ten Napel family prefers memorials to the Marion and Lorena TenNapel Scholarship Fund, c/o of Northwestern College or Gideons International. Lorena (Vander Laan) TenNapel passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at the age of 98 years. Lorena Vander Laan was born on September 3, 1916 to John and Stella (Vander Maten) Vander Laan at the Vander Maten farm by Middleburg, Iowa. At age seven, the family moved to a farm by Maurice, Iowa. Lorena worked hard as a young lady helping on the farm, including picking corn by hand. She would help her mother cook for her five brothers and the yearly threshing crew. Her brothers to this day call her "Sis". Lorena enjoyed visiting her female cousins so she did not always feel outnumbered. Her parents purchased 40 acres north of Orange City, Iowa. Lorena continued to help on the farm and did laundry and ironing. She did not like doing all the white shirts for all those men. Lorena was at times referred to as her mother's "hired girl" because she worked for the many neighbors and Dr. Doornink. She enjoyed helping others and the fellowship she had with the families she assisted. On November 30, 1945, Lorena was united in marriage to Marion TenNapel at First Reformed Church in Orange City. For the first four months, they lived in Marion's parents' home in Ireton, Iowa. In March 1946, they moved to a rental farm southwest of Ireton. They started with very little and gradually bought livestock and machinery. They were very active at church including Lorena playing piano for some services. In 1961, they sold some of the machinery in order to buy a farm near Jasper, Minnesota. They retired from farming in 1974 and moved to Sioux Center, Iowa. They enjoyed selling Shaklee products, and worked with distributors and customers over a four state region. The business was successful because they believed in the products. Lorena and Marion believed strongly in education. They both left school after the 8th grade to help their families, but after retiring from farming they worked hard to get their High School Graduate Equivalency diplomas. Their faith was a very important part of their lives. They tried to lead and be a good example at all times. Lorena and Marion were very involved in the Gideon's International. Music was always an integral part of their lives; they were members of a lot of different choirs, sang duets together many times, and left their sons with a deep appreciation for music. Marion passed away September 29, 1989, after a two year battle with cancer. Lorena continued to be active at First Reformed Church in Sioux Center. She moved to the Regency Retirement Residence where she enjoyed the fellowship. In 2005, Lorena moved to Bethany Meadows Retirement Home in Brandon, South Dakota to be near family. Surviving are two sons and daughters-in-law: Roger and Sandra TenNapel of Corpus Christi, TX and Harlan and Mona TenNapel of Sioux Falls, SD along with her three grandchildren: Scott (Karen) TenNapel of Stanchfield, MN, Laurie (Jeffrey) Paganini of Aurora, CO, Sherri (Max) Ekobena of Onalaska, WI.; 5 great grandchildren: Connor and Colton Ten Napel, Jackson and Gabriella Paganini, Emily and (soon to be sister) Ekobena. Lorena is also survived by three brothers and sisters-in-law: Marion "Bud" and Dorthena Vander Laan, Clarence and Lena Vander Laan, Harold and Muriel Vander Laan all of Orange City along with several nieces and nephews. Lorena was preceded in death by her husband, Marion TenNapel; grandson, Jeffrey TenNapel; brother and sister-in-law, Louis and Etta Vander Laan, Sr. and brother, Herman Vander Laan.