Doris De Hoogh: 1933-2023

Mrs. Doris De Hoogh, age 89, of Orange City, Iowa, passed away on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at the Orange City Area Health System, surrounded by loved ones.

A funeral service was scheduled for Tuesday, April 25 at the First Reformed Church in Orange City, with the Rev. Mark Haverdink and the Rev. Timothy Breen officiating. Interment followed in the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City.

Doris was born on Nov. 15, 1933, to Abraham and Sarah (Duerksen) Schmidt, in Marion, S.D. She was the youngest of eight children and had many happy memories of family life on the farm, despite the hard times of the 1930s.

She graduated from Marion High School in 1951. She pursued further education at Freeman Jr. College, in Freeman, S.D., and Central College, in Pella, Iowa, where she earned a two-year teaching certificate in 1954. She moved to Pella to be closer to her high school sweetheart, Art De Hoogh, who was also attending Central College. They married on Christmas Day, 1954. The couple moved to Holland, Mich., in the summer of 1955, where Art attended seminary and Doris taught second grade in the Holland school district from 1955 to 1958. While in Michigan, Doris continued her education part-time at Hope College and Western Michigan University.

In 1958, Art and Doris were called to a church in Scotland, S.D., where Doris taught kindergarten for one year before welcoming their first daughter, Beth, in 1959. The call to plant a new church in 1961 took them to Lafayette, Ind., where their second daughter, Doreen, was born in 1963.

Together they made their home in Orange City, Iowa, in 1964, where Art joined the administrative staff at Northwestern College. Doris was busy with two little girls, as well as at First Reformed Church, where she taught Sunday school, was a member and officer of the Women’s Guild, and chaired the Reformed Church East Sioux Classis Women’s Guild.

Doris and Art welcomed their third daughter, Michelle, in 1970, while living in Orange City. Doris continued her education at Northwestern College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Library and Media Science in 1978.

Freeman, S.D., was their next home from 1979 to 1986. While in Freeman, Doris was the Librarian and Media Specialist for Freeman Jr. College and Academy (FJC/FA), and Art served as the school’s president. While at FJC/FA, Doris was instrumental in helping the school achieve accreditation by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. Art recalls the surveyors requesting numerous documents for review, and their surprise when each was readily available in binders Doris had prepared. She was meticulous in her work and found great pleasure in assisting high school and college students achieve their educational goals. They also enjoyed being close to Doris’s family, all of whom lived within 30 miles.

During these years, Doris continued to pursue further education, and graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Master of Arts in Library and Media Science in 1985.

They then moved to North Newton, Kan., in 1986. In 1987, Doris began working at the Hesston, Kansas School District as the High School Library Media Specialist. Doris loved serving high school students and staff at Hesston High School. Their years in Kansas (1986-1999) were rewarding professionally and personally for Doris and Art. Doris was involved at Bethel Mennonite Church where they developed life-long friendships.

Doris and Art retired in Orange City in 1999 to be closer to their children and grandchildren in Orange City and Sioux Falls, S.D., and to rejoin a community they loved. Being part of the Northwestern College Retired Faculty group rekindled important relationships that brought them joy. Doris enjoyed hosting family and friends, cooking fabulous meals for all to enjoy, which usually included chocolate pie for dessert! She loved their home very much, and especially enjoyed feeding the birds and squirrels and tending to the flower garden, watching all the activity from the sunroom and deck. She loved to bring nature up close and had a connection to the land that was nurtured in her childhood. They sold their home of 23 years recently and moved to Landsmeer Ridge Retirement Community in Orange City.

Doris was a cheerful person who enjoyed hosting family and friends. She was an avid reader, and a member of the Orange City Book Club for many years. Together they spent many hours designing and tending to their yard and garden. There were many Easter egg hunts and treasure hunts for grandchildren in their yard in Kansas and Iowa through the years. The best treasure hunts took the grandchildren all across town, with some great prizes waiting for them. Tulip Festival was a special week each year for the grandchildren at Grandma Doris’s house. She took great joy in providing authentic Dutch costumes for every age and stage, including a matching costume for her and Art. Envelopes of spending-money, poffertjes, street scrubbing, carnival rides, and cheering on the older grandchildren in the Pride of the Dutchmen Marching Band, were all part of the experience!

Survivors include her husband, Art De Hoogh; her three daughters and their spouses: Beth VanderWerff (David), of Orange City, Doreen Miller (Forrest), of Hartford, S.D., and Michelle DeHoogh-Kliewer (David), of Sioux Falls; and also by her grandchildren: Drew VanderWerff, (Dana), Matthew VanderWerff (Erin), Madelyn Miller, Jackson Miller, Hannah DeHoogh-Kliewer, and Emma DeHoogh-Kliewer; great-grandchildren Margaret and Mallory VanderWerff; her sister, Delsie Van Westen, of Marion; and a sister-in-law, Delores Hanson, of Wausau, Wis.

Family, Friendships and Faith continued to be important sources of strength for Doris, to the end of her life. Her family had the privilege of walking her to the gates of heaven, her hand nestled in Art’s, the love of her life, as he kept vigil beside her.

Art sang “The Wedding Prayer” on their wedding day 68 years ago. As Doris peacefully passed away, he recited the last verse to her once again:

“Oh God, until we reach life’s ebbing tide,
may we in perfect Love and Peace abide.
And when life’s sun shall set beyond the hill,
may we go hand in hand together still.”

Memorial will be given to the Northwestern College Library.

You are invited to leave a message of condolence, print a memorial folder, and participate in the service via livestream at www.oolman.com.