Doug Vanden Berg

Doug Vanden Berg, 60, of Sioux Center, IA died Wednesday, February 13, 2013, at Royale Meadows Care Center in Sioux Center. A visitation will be held prior to the service on Monday from 10-11AM at the First Christian Reformed Church of Sioux Center. A funeral service will be held Monday at 11AM at the First Christian Reformed Church with Rev. Carl Klompien officiating. Interment will follow the service in Hope Cemetery of Hull, Iowa. The Vanden Berg family prefer memorials be directed to Dordt College of Sioux Center. Douglas Dean Vanden Berg was born on March 20, 1952 in Sheldon, Iowa to Jack and Emma (Vander Spoel) Vanden Berg. The first five years of his life were spent on a farm north of Boyden, Iowa. He spent many happy hours on the farm walking through the pasture and fields with his faithful dog as his companion. Doug attended kindergarten in the Hull Christian School and first grade at the Sioux Center Christian School, before his family moved to Grand Rapids Michigan. After two years in Michigan, the family lived in Iowa City before moving back to Sioux Center. Doug graduated from Western Christian High School in Hull, Iowa and Dordt College in Sioux Center. Doug's favorite pastime was traveling. He traveled to several provinces in Canada and the states of: Washington, Oregon and California. He once traveled to Florida with friends for spring break and traveled through New England on a color tour. While in college, Doug and his friends spent four months traveling through Europe, England and Scotland. From the time he was a boy, Doug enjoyed working. In grade school and in junior high he was a "paper boy" for the Des Moines Register and worked at Peter's IGA grocery store. While he was a student at Dordt College he worked for the De Stigter Brothers Construction Company. After college he worked as a resident counselor at Village Northwest in Sheldon, Iowa. Later health issues forced Doug's resignation. In his free time he enjoyed beekeeping. Doug became a resident of Royale Meadows Care Center in Sioux Center when he required more skilled care. While there he filled his time working on puzzles or on the computer. Doug is survived include an uncle and two aunts: Arnold and Jackie Vander Spoel of Ft. Meyers Beach, FL and Henrietta Brouwer of Hull, IA as well as a number of cousins and friends. Doug is preceded in death by his parents, Jack Vanden Berg on April 6, 1993 and Emma Vanden Berg on April 25, 2009.