Leona TerLouw

Henrietta Leona TerLouw was born February 27, 1916, to John F. and Maggie (Visser) Hiemstra, at her parents’ home on Valley View Farm near Otley. Leona was the youngest of eleven children. 

Leona had the typical chores of a farm girl. She would pick up corn cobs from the hog lot to burn in their woodstove.  Some of her other chores were to water and feed the chickens, grind corn and get the mail by riding their horse to the mail box.  She attended school at the Valley View country school and went to Lincoln School in Pella to take eighth grade exams.  When she was twelve she started attending Pella High School and graduated in 1933. Leona also attended Central College for a year where she enjoyed singing in the A Cappella choir. Leona taught in a one room country school called South Porterville for the 1935-1936 school year.

Growing up Leona went to Otley Reformed Church and made confession of faith there when she was a junior in high school.  After the family moved to their Sandridge farm they transferred membership to the Trinity Reformed Church. Leona was always active in the choir, ladies guild and other church activities.

On January 22, 1938, Leona was united in marriage to John E. TerLouw at her parents’ home in Pella.  To this union they were blessed with three children: Nancy, Marilyn and Andrew.  Their first home was a farm south of Sully. Later they moved to her parents’ former home near Otley and then to the Sandridge farm.

Leona was an accomplished baker and won over 150 ribbons from the Iowa State Fair for her bread and many other baked goods.

After she and John retired and moved to Pella, they enjoyed traveling in the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, Austria and Germany.  Some of Leona’s other interests were reading, bowling and crocheting.

Leona was happy to have had perfect attendance at 86 Hiemstra family reunions!

She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years John in 1998, granddaughter Julie in 2001, son-in-law Gary Wallace in 2006, her parents John F. and Maggie Visser Hiemstra and her three brothers and seven sisters and their spouses:  Tillie and Sam Poortinga, Emma and John Buwalda, Frank and Gertrude Hiemstra, Cornelia and Henry Vriezelaar, Martin and Henriette Hiemstra, John and Lillian Hiemstra, Mary and Leonard Gosselink, Nellie and Peter Westerkamp, Margaret and Elmer Vogelaar, Mabel and Cliff De Jong; her parents-in-law Andrew and Nellie Vos TerLouw; brothers and sisters-in-law:  Gerald and Nellie TerLouw, Marvin and Sophia Ann Swank, and Lester TerLouw.

Family

Nancy and Mark McCaune, Des Moines

            Julie Uitermarkt (deceased 2001)

            Vickie and Gary Welch

                        Anna and Tim Hamilton

                                    Coralee Hamilton

                        Joseph Fisk

                        Mac Fisk

                        Laine Fisk

                        Kira Fisk

Marilyn and Gary (deceased 2006) Wallace, Pella

            Laura Wallace and Bob Aringdale

                        Emily Klatt and Jared Atchison

                        Tyler Klatt

            Jana and Troy Windt

                        Mitch Windt

                        Perry Windt

                        Robert Windt

                        Charlotte Windt

Andrew and Susan TerLouw, Kellogg

            Nora and Philip Fetter

                        DeArgo Clopton

                        Nathaniel Clopton

                        Marquon Clopton

                                    Malia Clopton

                        Preston Clopton

                        Itedra Clopton

            Jennifer and Benny Melton

            Joy and Darrel Anderson

                        Xavier Blackwell

            Angela and Abex Dagnachew

                        Ezra Dagnachew

                        Noah Dagnachew

            John and Shana TerLouw

                        Andrew TerLouw

                        Keith TerLouw

Leona is also survived by her sister-in-law Louise TerLouw, many nieces and nephews, and a host of friends.

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