- Date Of Birth: December 21, 1916
- Date Of Death: September 27, 2008
- State: Iowa
LeRoy Van Vark was born in Pella on December 21, 1916 to William and Marie Roovaart Van Vark. He was raised in the Pella area and received his education in the Pella schools. He graduated from Pella Community High School in 1933. He started driving truck for Pella Produce with his father, William Van Vark.
LeRoy worked in the Harvey Bank and then moved to Des Moines and worked at Central National Bank.
In March 1944 LeRoy was drafted into the United States Army and served in Okinawa. It was there that he was wounded in action and hospitalized in Texas and Galesburg, Illinois for the next eighteen months. He received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star while serving his country. LeRoy was honorably discharged on August 2, 1946. He returned to Central National Bank and later transferred to the Pella National Bank. LeRoy and Jessie later lived and farmed in the Otley area for nearly forty-five years. After retiring they moved to Pella.
Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Jessie; his four children: Virginia Mathes, Roger and Nancy Van Vark, Mary and Charles Snyder, and David and Brenda Van Vark; ten grandchildren: Chuck and Michelle Snyder, Bradley and Jessica Van Vark, Kelly Mathes, Amy and Lance Klein, Heidi and Chris Hubbell, Stacy and Zach Kanis, Michelle and Kevin Jones, Jill and Shaun De Vries, James Snyder and Melanie Snyder; four great-grandchildren: Andy and Katie Snyder, Alexa Klein, and William Roy Van Vark. Also surviving are his sister, Maxine Porter, and a niece, Sandy, both residing in California.
1:30 P.M. Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Pella, Iowa
Begins at Noon, Tuesday, September 30, 2008
with family present 5:00 – 7:00 P.M.
Pella, Iowa
American Cancer Society
FAMILY
Wife: Jessie Van Vark
Children: Virginia Mathes
Roger (Nancy) Van Vark
Mary (Charles) Snyder
David (Brenda) Van Vark
