Harriet B. DeBoer

Harriet DeBoer, 90, of Ft. Collins, passed away November 22, 2016 at Good Samaritan Society in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Harriet was born August 28, 1926 in Sioux Center, Sioux County, Iowa. She attended grades one through eight in a country school west of her parent’s home in Sioux County. She graduated from Sioux Center High School and went to six weeks of college in Lemars, Iowa to earn a teacher certificate. She married Jake DeBoer, March 4, 1949 in First Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center, Iowa, Rev. BJ Haan officiating. They were married for almost forty-eight years when Jake died on February 19, 1996.

Harriet taught country grade school for five years, starting at age 16. She had twenty pupils in all eight grades at the same time. She was a homemaker after marriage.

Harriet was a member of First Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center. After marriage, she and Jake became charter members of Calvin Christian Reformed Church in Rock Valley. Later, Jake and Harriet decided to go to church in the same town where the children were going to school. That is when they began attending Hope Christian Reformed Church in Hull, Iowa. In 1973, after moving to Littleton, Colorado, they attended Ridgeview Hills Christian Reformed Church and later, after the children were all out of the house, Hillcrest Christian Reformed Church. She attended Cornerstone Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Fort Collins when she moved there after Jake died.

As a youngster, Harriet earned a letter “I” in a spelling contest in Orange City, Iowa. In high school, she sang in Girl’s Glee Club and then in a mixed choir. Harriet was also in a play in high school. When she taught school, she got great satisfaction in putting together programs for her students, and when she had children they would put on programs for their daddy! Later in life she sang in church choirs as well as the Harmonettes singing group in Fort Collins, Colorado. They always enjoyed her strong soprano voice and gave her solos frequently. Harriet was an avid seamstress most of her life—she designed and created many articles of clothing for herself and her children over the years. She loved poetry and collected, categorized, and made illustrated books of wonderful poems for every one of her granddaughters. In each, she included an original poem that she wrote just for them. She also volunteered teaching English as a Second Language for many years in Denver. She kept scrapbooks of photographs, carefully commenting on each picture so her children would know what each was about later in life.

The DeBoer family lived in northwest Iowa until 1968 when they tried moving to Washington State to help Harriet’s asthmatic condition. After living there for eighteen months, they decided central Washington wasn’t helping so moved back to Hull, Iowa. Jake made a significant change of occupation upon returning, getting into the electrical trade which he had learned before farming on his own. The couple decided to take advantage of the booming growth in downtown Denver, and the fair climate in Colorado and moved the younger half of the family there in 1973. They lived in the same house for twenty-eight years until Harriet moved up to Fort Collins, Colorado a year or so after Jake died.

Harriet is survived by her daughters Ruth and Roy Heitritter, Donna and Gerald Wiersma, Beth and Harlan Ponstien, Leni Heckman and Connie and Scott Kramer; son Norm and Mishela DeBoer, grandchildren Tricia and Eric Koerselman, Megan and Sean Tousley, Maria and Chris Anderson, Sophia and Andrew Cleveland, Margareta and Zach Maxon, Atalie DeBoer, Klaus DeBoer, Jason and Ruth Wiersma, Craig and Angie Wiersma, Brad and Kristi Wiersma, Jesse Wiersma, Brianna DeBoer, Michael DeBoer, Benjamin DeBoer, Nina DeBoer, Abbie and Chris Cochrun, Hannah and Travis Nykamp, Erika Heckman, Niole and Ian Jolley, Joe Heckman, Nathan Kramer, Michelle and Logan Delacasro, Katelyn Kramer and Julianna Kramer; great grandchildren Brett, Zoe, Mia, William, Levi, Lexi, Lenae, Austin, Kaitlyn, Colin, Jackson, Brooklin and Evie. She was preceded in death by Jake DeBoer, husband and Cliff DeBoer, son.

Memorial contributions may be made to World Renew in care of Stoddard Funeral Home, 3205 W 28th Street, Greeley, Colorado.