Betty Schutte

Betty Lou (Eeling) Schutte was the first of three children born to Frank and Kay (Netten) Eeling on March 5, 1936. Betty, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt, friend went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on April 2, 2023 at the earthly age of 87.

Because her family moved quite often during her school-age days and having a shy personality, Betty wasn’t able to make many close friends.  So, she developed a love for reading, writing, and arithmetic; especially reading. She was an avid learner and was an excellent student. Given the opportunity, Betty would have no doubt excelled at the higher education level, too.  Her sister, Dee, considered her a mentor in those years who would always read to her and their brother Dale. She was also a caregiver to her siblings when their parents were  unavailable.  A favorite memory of Dee’s was cleaning house with Betty on Saturdays, although Betty insisted on listening to Country music while they cleaned.

Although her family were not regular church attenders, God’s leading in Betty’s life helped change that.  A classmate invited her to church, and she accepted the offer. She loved going to church, and soon she gave her life to Jesus. She determined to find a church wherever they moved and go every Sunday.  She also brought Dee and Dale with her to Sunday School, and eventually the whole family began attending church together.

As high school neared its end, that was to be the end of her formal education. The rest of her learning was self-taught, including learning to speak the Dutch language fluently. Learning to understand and speak Dutch was actually out of necessity, because Betty met, fell in love with, and married Henry Schutte, an immigrant from The Netherlands who knew no English when they first met.  They married on her 18th birthday, March 5, 1954.  They were married for 65 years until the passing of Henry in 2019. Their marriage produced four healthy children: Tony Wayne, Michael Henry (Mike), Cynthia Marie (Cyndi), and Rodney Lee.  There was a fifth child, Stuart James, who was still born.

There were many lean years for the family, but as Henry worked to provide, Betty learned to cook meals that went far and were still “fit for kings”.  She sure could cook!  With the reluctant help of her kids, she always planted an enormous garden in the backyard of their house on Columbus Street in Pella. Canning vegetables, fruits, and meat became major productions in her home, which usually included her mom, sister, and other family members participating, too.

Betty loved to put puzzles together and play cards and other games with her kids.  Sunday afternoons in the winter months were fond memories of Cyndi and Rod doing these things with their mom.  Teasing their mom was also a fond memory while playing games, and once they got her giggling, she could hardly stop. She didn’t win many games, but she was a very good sport.

When her kids were old enough, Betty started working more outside the home to help make ends meet. You can guess what her work was; it was cooking, first for A & W Restaurant and then for the Christian Opportunity Center.  She loved working at C.O.C., and she was loved by everyone there, too.  It was really her mission that God called her to, and she did it with a passionate zeal.  She ordered supplies, prepared and cooked the meals, and served the staff and clients with her big, beautiful smile; but it was the relationships she had with the clients that stood out. Many would work with her in the kitchen, and she would patiently train them; all the while watching to be sure they didn’t slice and dice themselves.  To say she was beloved at C.O.C. is an understatement.

Her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids were a very important part of her life, and she and Henry would plan many special outings and visits so they could be with them.  One favorite memory of their kids and grandkids was the day trips Henry and Betty took them on to Great Adventures in Des Moines.  Making lunches together, packing up the vehicles, spending the day in the amusement park, and then ending the day at a favorite restaurant was a family highlight of the summer. 

After many trips back to The Netherlands and around the U.S. with Henry, the time came for them to end their traveling.  In retirement, Betty continued to sub as a cook for C.O.C. on occasion until finally she physically couldn’t do the work anymore.  However, she continued to cook and serve many Sunday meals for her family until she moved into assisted living.  She surely must have had many helpful suggestions for the cooks as they prepared the meals there.

Betty was a long-time member of Connect Church (formerly First CRC) where she served in many ways.  One of her favorite experiences was later in life when she was asked to be a GEMS counselor.  At first, she felt she was too old to relate to the girls, but after some convincing she tried it and loved it.  As you can guess, she was a favorite “Grandma” to the girls.

When the folks who knew her spoke to her family members, they mostly would say, “Betty is such a saint”. Well, they were absolutely correct in their descriptions.   Now that her race has been run, Betty has put aside her weakened and broken body, and has become whole because of her Savior Jesus Christ.  It’s into His arms that she has run.

Those left to cherish her memory are her children and other family:

Tony Schutte (deceased)

            Tabitha (Jason) Langstraat

                        Tristan, Teagan

            Dustin (Jillian) Schutte

                        Ryker, Bauer

            Paige (Dan) Norton

                        Kylie and Brantley Underwood

Mike (Lisa) Schutte – Arizona

            Brandon (Bobbie) Schutte

                        Katelin, Koen, Kash

            Brianne (Enoch) Hayase

                        Camden

Cyndi Schutte – Pella

            Nikki (Lance) Schakel

                        Lucas, Owen, Elijah

            Natasha Vander Weide & Ed Johnson

                        Julius

            Narissa (Justin) Thomas

                        Liam and Emma Childress

                        Isaac Thomas

            Nolan Vander Weide

                        Layla

Rod and Kim Schutte – Wyoming, Michigan

           Aaron (Katie) Schutte

           Zach (Amy) Schutte

                     William  

          Ashley Schutte

                    Lincoln Baca

          Brianna (Sam) Brown

          Caleb Schutte

She is also survived by her sister Delores Koopman of Pella, and her brother Dale Eeling of Pleasant Hill, Iowa.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents Frank and Kay Eeling, parents-in-law Albertus and Petronella Schutte, son Tony Schutte, and two sisters-in-law in Holland, four brothers-in-law: – two in Holland and two in the U.S., and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.  

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