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Orie Vander Boon

May 27, 1926 - June 28, 2021
Ada, MI

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Visitation

Wednesday, June 30, 2021
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes
Van Strien Creston Chapel
1833 Plainfield Ave., N.E
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
(616) 361-2613
Driving Directions

Visitation

Wednesday, June 30, 2021
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes
Van Strien Creston Chapel
1833 Plainfield Ave., N.E
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
(616) 361-2613
Driving Directions

Service

Friday, July 2, 2021
1:00 PM EDT
Live Stream
Heritage Reformed Congregation
540 Crescent Street NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

The service may be viewed at the live stream link above, or on the church's facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/hrcgrandrapids

Map

Contributions


At the family's request memorial contributions are to be made to those listed below. Please forward payment directly to the memorial of your choice.

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
2965 Leonard Street NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
Web Site

Grace Christian Academy
1000 Ball Street NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505

Flowers


Below is the contact information for a florist recommended by the funeral home.

Ball Park Floral
8 Valley Ave.
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
(616) 459-3409
Driving Directions
Web Site

Life Story / Obituary


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Orie Vander Boon lived life as the solid foundation for his beloved family, and will be greatly missed by many family members and friends. Orie was a hard worker for his entire life and lent a hand to those in need whenever the opportunity presented itself. Being a deeply religious man, Orie tried his best to share the blessings God bestowed on him; Orie would share his home and offer his hospitality with many people throughout the years. Orie leaves behind endless memories and cherished moments never to be forgotten by anyone who knew and loved him.

The Roaring Twenties was a time where alcohol was prohibited, the Model T largely defined the auto industry, the jazz scene was flourishing, and women in the U.S. gained the right to vote. The legendary New York Yankee, Babe Ruth, was the most well-known athlete of the decade, and the invention of penicillin saved thousands of lives from lethal infections. For John and Mary (Vander Waal) Vander Boon, May 27, 1926, served as a memorable date as they welcomed their second child to their family. Orie Vander Boon was the oldest boy in a family of twelve.

Growing up in Grand Rapids, MI the Vander Boon family were members of the Netherlands Reformed Church. Religion forever remained an integral pillar in Orie’s life. When Orie was nine years old, his father moved the family to a farm on Grand River Drive in Ada Township. At the time, Orie looked at the move as an adventure since the new home did not have running water or electricity. Moving to a farm brought about more chores and responsibility for Orie, but he didn’t mind because he enjoyed the work given to him. Carl Schoolhouse was a one room schoolhouse located down the street from Orie’s house so he could walk to school every day. Orie enjoyed working on the family farm, fishing, and hunting. When he turned eighteen years old, Orie joined the Army along with his brother. Orie served as military police in Italy for a time, and, like many others. he was afraid of being sent as a new recruit to the from lines to fight an entrenched German army. Thankfully, the enemy surrendered before he was called up. After returning the the Untited States, Orie trained for an invasion of Japan, but again, thankfully, the enemy surrendered and he could return home. Orie loved serving his country and was forever patriotic.

Upon his return home from the war, Orie started working for his father who owned a meat company and slaughterhouse. He began by making deliveries, but soon moved up in the company to help with bookkeeping. Noticing some oddities with the business, Orie started learning things from the inside-out, from purchasing livestock at auctions to meat sales. Before long, Orie and his brother decided to purchase Ada Beef Company from their father. After the purchase, Orie’s parents and many younger siblings moved to Rock Valley, IA. Orie and his brother ran the meat company that was just down the street from their childhood home for 50 years (1948-1998). During this time, the brothers endured two fires at the plant.

Once Orie was home from the war, he noticed Laurena Quist, who also went to church and sang in the choir with him. The two began dating and married within two years on October 27, 1948. The couple lived in three different houses on Grand River Drive throughout the years, and had nine children, spanning 18 years, together. Not only was Orie a hard worker, but he was also a loving and playful father. There are many memories of him laying on the floor after work going through old pictures with the kids, taking them on trips to Bostwick Lake on hot summer days, playing hide-and-seek and soccer with them, and taking them hunting for rabbits. Orie worked to create a family atmosphere where they were all close. The family also took many summer trips to Rock Valley to visit other family members. Orie always made sure to sing with the family in the car on the way to church each Sunday and gathered them every week on Wednesday and Saturday to spend time together. During these weekly visits he would make sure there was plenty of singing and reading of scripture. Orie wanted to make sure he passed on his hard-working nature to his children by making job lists for them each day. Since they lived close to the meat company, Orie was able to come home for lunch and often returned by four o’ clock, when he would have half a donut and a cup of coffee.

Even though Orie was always a hard-working man, he was known to be a prankster and had a great sense of humor. He could laugh along with others but could also laugh at himself. Because he appreciated hard work, he often saw the opportunity for acquaintances to be “useful” at Ada Beef Company; he would employ children, people from the neighborhood, church friends, and many others throughout the years. After adding on a pool to their home, Orie made sure to always have an open invitation to friends and neighbors to come over and have fun. There was always a lot of activity happening at the house, but Orie wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Orie enjoyed boxing, racing cars, and was also quite athletic. He also loved to spend time with his grandkids throughout the years. Each grandchild has their own fond memories of time with Orie; some got to go on walks in the nearby hills with him where he would always pack a little treat for them along the way, and some got to travel with him and Laurena. Even after his kids grew up and had kids of their own, the family would often still gather on Sunday evenings where they would sing together as Orie would call out songs and verses.

Being a mechanic was something Orie had considered being in his younger years. He continued to use that passion throughout his life to buy cars at auctions and sell them. Orie helped many people in the church, at work, family members, and friends to find cars. He built relationships with parts dealers and knew how to keep a car running as well as fix a car up. Orie gave so much to his family during his life and was always a contemplative man; he always had thoughtful reasoning behind his actions and beliefs. Orie’s life was also met with tragedy at times: the tragic loss of his son Bob, two fires at his company, and the loss of his business. However, in 2017 Orie was met with the hardest part of his life—the death of Laurena from complications of a car accident.

As Orie’s health deteriorated in later years, his children did everything possible to keep him at home. The family was nearly forced to relocate Orie in order to receive additional help, but then a few of his granddaughters stepped in so that he was able to remain at home. Orie's beliefs permeated his life which he lived with integrity, honesty and generosity. He was not afraid to confront people about sinful behavior, writing letters of "constructive" criticism to ministers, politicians, and his decendents. But he also encouraged others, distributing gospel tracts wherever he went and making copies of stories he found edifying to give to his children, grandchildren and aquaintences. The mark he left on everyone will always be cherished. Orie lived a life dedicated to working hard, providing for his family, lending a hand to all, worshiping God, and spending endless amounts of time with his beloved family.

Orie Vander Boon, age 95 of Ada, passed away June 28, 2021. Orie was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, Laurena; parents John and Mary Vander Boon; son Bob; son-in-law Eddie Falk; grandson Joshua Vander Boon; as well as sisters and brothers in law: Sarah (Gerald) Key, Hank Groen, Lena (Adrian) VanRavenswaay, Sybil (Cornie) VanVeldhuizen, Adriana (Tuenis) Rozeboom, Johanna, Cornie Boon; and sisters in law, brothers in law: Neal (Laurena) Quist, Marge (Bill) Prince, Jim (Hazel) Quist; Glenn (Louise) Quist, Clarence Quist, Mary (Alvin) Hossink.

Orie is survived by children: Lois (Pete) Vander Stel, Janice (Ralph) Van Ens, Jim (Gwen); Ron (Katherine); David, Coral (Mark) Hoffmann, Susan (Dale) Mulder, John (Kathy), Don (Ellen); 49 grandchildren and 85 great-grandchildren; brothers and sisters-in-law Frances Quist, John (Margaret) Vander Boon, Pauline Groen, Ann (Fred) Vlastuin, Connie (Ed) Brown, Marie (Gerritt) Rozeboom, Abe (Sandi) Vander Boon; and many nieces and nephews. Friends are invited to visit with the family at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home - Van Strien Creston Chapel on Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 PM. His funeral service will be on Friday, July 2 at 1 PM at Heritage Reformed Congregation, 540 Crescent Street NE with interment in Fairplains Cemetery. For those who wish, memorial contributions to either Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary or Grace Christian Academy are appreciated. To read more about his life, to share a memory or photo or to sign his guestbook, visit www.heritagelifestory.com.

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