Dorothy E (Swank) Van Der Kamp

A Celebration of Dorothy’s Life will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, April 8th at the Gathering Room of the First Reformed Church in Sully. Conducted by Rev. Dr.  Daniel Jordan, Chaplain at Newton Village in Newton.           

The family will greet friends from 10 a.m., April 8th until the time of service at the church in Sully.

A private family burial was held on Wednesday, March 9th at the Sully Cemetery in Sully.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials to the Gideons. Memorials may be left at the church on the morning of the service or at the Wallace Family Funeral Home & Crematory in Newton or mailed to the funeral home, please add; Attn: Van Der Kamp Family on the envelope.

Dorothy Elizabeth Swank Van Der Kamp, the daughter of Will and Cora Van Genderen Swank was born on April 12, 1924 on the family farm west of Harvey, Iowa.

On September 28, 1944, Dorothy was united in marriage with Ralph Van Der Kamp. It was a double wedding with her brother, Marvin (Sophia Ann Terlouw) Swank at the Terlouw family farm in Marion County. Dorothy and Ralph were blessed with five children, Darrel, Nancy, Connie, Gail and Ron. She worked as a homemaker and a farmer’s wife.

Dorothy was a lifelong member of the First Reformed Church in Sully and participated in Cottage Prayer Meetings, Martha Circle and Sewing Days. She was a member of the Jasper County Farm Bureau Neighborhood Club. Dorothy and Ralph were active members in Gideons International.

Dorothy had a large garden, raised chickens, canned fruit and froze vegetables to be able to provide for the family during the winter months. She was a great cook and baker. The family fondly remembers her fried chicken on Sunday, her pies with the flakiest of crusts, dutch letters, butterhorn rolls, and the homemade cookies that were always present when family came to visit. She was a gifted quilter; making quilts for her family and for missions through Sewing Days at the church. She also enjoyed crocheting afghans and baby hats for her family, local hospitals and missions in Honduras. She enjoyed watching baseball, as long as it was her St. Louis Cardinals. Dorothy was a loving and caring wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Dorothy died on Monday, March 7, 2022 at Newton Village in Newton. She was 97. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Ralph in 2008; great-grandsons, Cooper Lane DePenning and Rex Allen Van Der Kamp and 3 brothers, Marion, Marvin and Lester Swank.

Those left to cherish her memory are her children and their families:

Darrel (Brenda) Van Der Kamp of Ankeny

         Jana of Ankeny

         Brent (Stephanie) of Ankeny     

                  Nick of Ankeny

                  Madison (Steven) Hoppa of Piedmont, South Carolina

                             daughter, is due in May 2022

         Alex (Danielle) of Ankeny

                  Lynne, Merritt and Chase

Nancy (Carroll) De Penning of Newton

         Todd (Tami) of Bedias, Texas

                  Claire (fiancé, Jacob Schmidt) of Hockley, Texas

         Corey (Amy) of Waukee

                  Brady and Darby

Connie (Denny) Vander Weerdt of Grinnell

         Aaron (Candy) of Broadview Heights, Ohio

                  Colin and Ian

         Adam (Christine) of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

                  Greta and Cora

         Leah (Greg) Van Maanen of Prairie City

                  Austin and Nick

Gail (Randy) Beyer of Runnells

         Jamie (Brenda) of San Diego, California

                  Noah and Jordana

         Robby (Abby) of Urbandale

                  Madeline and Samantha

         Brad (Kristen) of Woodbury, Minnesota

                  Indie

Ron (Sal) Van Der Kamp of West Des Moines

         Amy (Tim) Dobberfuhl of Palm Coast, Florida

                  Blake, Elizabeth and Zoe

         Kirby (Lisa) of Denver, Colorado

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dorothy E (Swank) Van Der Kamp, please visit our floral store.