Leona Bogaard

NOTICE: Sibley, IA

Leona Bogaard age 104 of Sibley, Iowa died, Sunday, June 28, 2020 at her daughters’ home in Sioux Falls, SD.

Graveside services will take place at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, July 11, 2020 at Holman Township Cemetery in Sibley, IA.

Public is invited to join the family at the Jurrens Funeral Home in Sibley, IA at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday for a prayer service before proceeding to the cemetery for burial. Social distancing guidelines will be in place for both the visitation and the graveside service.

We are honored to share with you a little about our wonderful mother, Leona.  She was first and foremost a child of God. She loved her Lord and her greatest desire was that all of her children and grandchildren would come to love the Lord also. Mom was blessed with 104 years here on earth and is now in her heavenly home.

Leona Jeanette (Struyk) Bogaard was born on January 13, 1916 on her family’s farm outside of Melvin, Iowa. She was the 6^th of 7 children born to John and Lydia (Steenhoven) Struyk. Her parents came to America from the Netherlands. She grew up speaking both English and Dutch. She had many Dutch sayings and would laugh as she translated them for us, remembering her heritage. She attended Melvin Consolidated Schools and graduated in 1934. 

She met our dad, Richard, at Christian Endeavor which was the Reformed Church’s youth group of its day. Our father must have been smitten because a few days later, while out shopping, he saw her walk into a store and told his mother, “I’m going to marry that girl.” They married on November 18, 1937 in the church parsonage in Newkirk, Iowa. They moved onto our father’s family farm located just south of Sheldon, Iowa.

In November of 1938, Mom gave birth to a stillborn daughter, but on May 10, 1940 God gave them a double blessing with the birth of twins, Dick and Donna. Five years later, on July 24, 1945, God blessed them again as Mom gave birth to a second set of twins, Linda and Letha. Mom loved farm life. She gardened and helped Dad on the farm. She even milked cows on the night Dick and Donna were born. They thought their family was complete but were very surprised when they found out they were expecting again and on October 1, 1960 Beth joined the family.

By this time, they’d sold the farm and moved to Ackley, Iowa where they bought the Bogaard Lumber Yard. They lived in Ackley until 1968 when they moved to Seattle, Washington. Mom enjoyed the 11 years they spent in the Pacific Northwest. She loved to see the Olympic mountains from her living room window. In 1979 they returned to Iowa. They lived in both Little Rock and Sibley, Iowa but also enjoyed wintering in Harlingen, Texas. Our dad passed away in 2005 and in 2009 Mom moved to Trail Ridge Retirement Village in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She enjoyed her little apartment and being near her family. In 2019, after a bout with pneumonia, Mom moved to Dow Rummel Village Nursing Facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She remained there until May of 2020 when she moved in with Beth and her family. They loved having her live with them and she loved it too! On June 28, 2020, she was surrounded by her family as she left this world and walked into the arms of Jesus. 

Mom was a wonderful wife and mother. Nothing gave her more joy than having her children and grandchildren around her. She loved to cook for them. She made many Dutch dishes that had been passed down from her mother. She made wonderful baked goods. She loved studying the Bible and knew much of it by heart. She taught Sunday School and enjoyed discussing scripture with friends and family. She had a lovely voice and we all grew up hearing her sing hymns as she worked around the house. She and our dad liked having a vegetable garden. She sewed many of our clothes when we were children. She could crochet and all of our babies had receiving blankets with wonderful crocheted edging. She liked to needlepoint and left us all beautiful quilts. 

Left to treasure her memory are her children, son Richard (Nancy) Bogaard of Sioux Falls, SD; daughter Donna (Dean) Shelly of Rock Rapids, IA; Linda (Meint) Huesman of Key Largo, FL; Letha (James) Huntsperger of Mill Creek, WA; Beth (Brian) DeRuyter of Sioux Falls, SD; 10 grandsons and one granddaughter, Doug (Donna) DeBoer of Little Rock, IA; Rob (Kim) Bogaard of Smithfield, Virginia; Dan (Stephanie) DeBoer of Marietta, GA; Dane (Kim) Bogaard of Mound, MN; Brad (Deb) Huesman of Guam; Brent (Amy) Huesman of Edmond, OK; David (Maryam) Huntsperger of Mill Creek, WA; Bryce (Brandi) Huesman of Fort Meyer, FL; John (Michelle) Huntsperger of Mill Creek, WA; Jon DeBoer of Providence, RI; Abbey and Drew DeRuyter of Sioux Falls, SD; 13 great grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren; sister-in-laws Mavis Struyk of Perry, IA; Leone Vande Woude of Coralville, IA; Norma (Roger) Gintert of Santa Cruz, CA and brother-in-law Calvin Bogaard of Sugarland, TX; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 68 years, Richard; a still born daughter, Mary; her parents; and her 4 brothers Arie (Jen), Pete (Dorothy), Burt (Elsie), and John and 2 sisters, Cora (Frank) Juber and Nellie (Pete) Van Aalsburg.