Esther Edna Van Rheenen was born August 8, 1922, to Catharines and Wilhelmina (De Bruin) Van Heukelom on their farm east of Leighton, Iowa. She passed away on December 26, 2016, in Pella.

Esther attended Pleasant Ridge School and graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 1939. Later she also attended Central College and Hope College.

On August 31, 1949, Esther married Ralph Van Rheenen at the Ebenezer Reformed Church in Leighton. To this union they were blessed with six children: Connie, Gary, Paul, Bonnie, Mary and Cathy.

Together, Esther and Ralph served churches in Chancellor, South Dakota; Portage, Michigan; Fulton, Illinois; Hawarden, Iowa; and Rariton, Illinois. She and Ralph co-taught classes at the community college in Hawarden, Iowa. For many years Esther and Ralph worked with residents of COC, including leading Friendship Bible classes, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Esther was a resourceful farm-raised woman: she drove tractors, gardened, sewed, and kept house for her brother and widowed father. Throughout her life she was an avid reader. Though seemingly quiet, she had a mischievious twinkle, and loved a good prank (a trait she passed on to her kids, along with her ethical values). Esther often remarked that her joy and pride in life was raising her six children, who cherished her with all their hearts and souls. Her beautiful smile and quiet faith warmed all who knew her throughout her entire life.

Those left to cherish her memory are her family as follows:

Connie Van Rheenen and Sandy Rose, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Gary Van Rheenen, Pella, Iowa

Paul and Ann Van Rheenen, Warminster, Pennsylvania, and their children:
Nicole and Aaron Brooks
Tim and Tiffany Van Rheenen
Andrew Van Rheenen

Bonnie and Tim Peevler, Keokuk, Iowa

Mary Van Rheenen and Keith Holmes, Westervoort, the Netherlands, and their children:
Ellen Holmes
Rebecca Holmes

Cathy Van Rheenen and John Fedele, Cliffside Park, New Jersey, and their children;
Emily Fedele
John Fedele

She was preceeded in death by her husband, Reverend Ralph Van Rheenen, and her siblings: Genella Engbers, Pella, Josephine De Jong, Pella, T. Ernest Van Heukelom, Leighton, and Reverend Clarence Van Heukelom, Orange City.

Visitation

3:00 P.M., Friday, December 30, 2016
Family will be present 5:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.
Garden Chapel Funeral Home
Pella, Iowa

Funeral Service

11:00 A.M., Saturday, December 31, 2016
Second Reformed Church
Pella, Iowa

Memorials

Christian Opportunity Center - Pella
Hope Ministries - Des Moines