Gerrit Hoogland

Gerrit Hoogland, 87, of Sioux Center, IA died Saturday, June 4, 2011 at Royale Meadows Care Center in Sioux Center. A visitation will be held Wednesday from 4-8PM, with the family present from 6-8PM at the Memorial Funeral Home of Sioux Center. A prayer service for family and friends will be held Thursday at 10AM at Bethel Christian Reformed Church of Sioux Center. Interment will follow the prayer service in Memory Gardens Cemetery of Sioux Center. A memorial service will be held Thursday at 11AM at Bethel Christian Reformed Church of Sioux Center with Rev. Duane Tinklenberg officiating. In lieu of flowers, the Hoogland family prefer memorials be directed to Mission India, P.O. Box 141312, Grand Rapids, MI 49514. Gerrit Hoogland was born at home on November 17, 1923, to Jake and Grace (VandeKamp) Hoogland of Middleburg, Iowa. Gerrit attended country school and graduated from the 8th grade. On January 16, 1946, he married Henrietta Kraayenbrink at a service in her parent's home. Of their nearly 64 years of marriage, 49 were spent farming. The first 3 years on a farm west of Sioux Center, the next 10 years on a farm near Maynard, Minnesota. From there the family moved to a farm outside of Magnolia, Minnesota for 18 years until it was decided that Loveland, Colorado would be an ideal place to build new dairies for the next 18 years. In 1995 Henrietta and Gerrit returned to Sioux Center to spend their retirement years where they were both raised. Throughout his lifetime as a farmer, Gerrit worked side by side with his wife, Henrietta, growing crops; raising hogs, chickens and beef cattle; but his real passion was found on the dairy. Gerrit took great satisfaction in his work which enabled him to provide for his family and be a generous contributor to God's kingdom work. His entrepreneurial spirit and innovative mind pushed him to dream big and set high expectations for himself. As he persistently worked toward achieving his goals, Gerrit's unwavering resolve to put forth his best effort at all times served as an inspiration and an example to family, friends and those who worked with him in his many endeavors. Gerrit lived out his faith over the years in many areas of service. He was a wonderful example of a husband as he lived out faithful commitment to his covenant marriage vows even through Henrietta's difficult final days battling Alzheimer's disease. As a member of the Christian Reformed Church, Gerrit served as an Elder, Deacon and Bible Study leader. He placed a high value on Christian education, as evidenced through his service on School Boards as well as blessing his own children with an education rooted in the gospel. He was committed to the distribution of Bibles around the world, and the Holy Spirit blessed him with gifts in the areas of giving, encouragement, and hospitality. Many of Gerrit's hobbies revolved around his work on the farm. He took great pleasure in welding and designing labor saving devices to make work more efficient and productive. In his younger years he enjoyed hunting and trapping. He was very much at home in the outdoors and around wildlife. Over the years many interesting pets' could be found on his farms including a deer, badger, raccoon, and owls just to list a few. He is survived by four of his children: Albert and Myrna (Sandbulte) Hoogland of Garretson, South Dakota; Jacob and Marg (Siebenga) Hoogland of Bolivia, South America; Bernard and Cheryl (Te Slaa) Hoogland of Longmont, Colorado and Vonda (Hoogland) and Paul Kooima of Sioux Center, Iowa. Gerrit has 19 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Pete and Gwen Hoogland of Sioux Center, Iowa, and sister-in-law, Clara Hoogland. He is preceded in death by his wife, Henrietta; eldest daughter, Gracia and her husband Jim De Boef; his parents, Jake and Grace Hoogland; three siblings: Margaret Rens and her husband Roy, Alice Nibbelink and her husband John and Alfred Hoogland.