CHISAGO CITY -- Edwin J. DeJongh, 92, of Chisago City, formerly of Willmar and Spicer, died Wednesday at Parmly LifePointes in Chisago City.
The service will be Saturday at Parmly LifePointes Chapel in Chisago City with visitation one hour prior to the service. A second service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at First Reformed Church in Rock Rapids, Iowa, with visitation one hour prior to the service.
Local visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar.
He was born June 24, 1916, in Edgerton to John and Ella (Vander Beek) DeJongh. They moved to Doon, Iowa, and in 1925 to Rock Rapids. At the age of 14, he worked at Yappen Auto Repair and Battery and later at Van's Grocery to help support the family during the depression. He graduated from Rock Rapids High School in 1933.
He married Sophia VanderWilt on July 8, 1941, in Middleburg, Iowa. They lived in Rock Rapids where he worked at Van's. From 1942 to 1945, he served in the U.S. Army under Gen. George Patton in the 13th Black Cat Armored Division as a tank gunner. His division was involved in the Battle of the Bulge and had just reached the Bavarian Alps in Austria at the end of the war where Hitler had his summer retreat. Then he returned to Rock Rapids. In 1945, he began to work for the U.S. Postal Service. He was a city mail carrier for eight years and then a rural carrier. In 1984, they moved to Spicer. In 1990, they moved to Willmar. He retired in 1980. They wintered in Mesa, Ariz., for about 20 years. In 2005, they moved to Chisago City, where he lived at Vindauga View Assisted Living Apartments and Sophia was in the skilled nursing care residence at Parmly Residence in the same building. Sophia died in 2006. He later moved to Parmly LifePointes.
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He was a member of Rock Rapids First Reformed Church where he served as a deacon and a member of the 1953 building committee. He also was a member of the building expansion committee and managed the worship radio broadcast and sound system. He and Sophia were the custodians for over 18 years. They were members of Hope Presbyterian Church.
He is survived by his son: Keith (and Marlene) DeJongh of Chisago City; son-in-law: Michael Buscemi of Bismarck, N.D.; three grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, two sisters and two brothers, including one in infancy.
