Mr. John Vander Maten, age 89, of Orange City, passed away on Wednesday, March 18, 2009, at the Orange City Area Health System Hospital.

There will be a memorial service on Monday, March 23, at 11:00am, at the Free Grace Reformed Church in Middleburg. The Rev. Mark Heijerman will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. There will be a family prayer service on Monday, at 9:45am, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Visitation with the family present will be on Sunday, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm, at the CHURCH.

John was born on September 7, 1919, in rural Alton, the son of Herman and Hattie (Van Oort) Vander Maten. He was raised in the Boyden area and continued to live there growing up.

He farmed and was also employed at the Farmers Elevator in Boyden for 26 years.

In 1958, Mr. Vander Maten moved to Orange City. He became a resident of the Pioneer Memorial Home there in 2006, and on July 1, 2008, he transferred to the Pleasant Acres Care Center in Hull.

He was a faithful member of the Free Grace Reformed Church.

John enjoyed spending time and helping on the family farm, especially after retirement. He also liked to play card games with relatives and friends.

Survivors include two brothers, Bill Vander Maten, and his wife, Ann, of Boyden; and Herm Vander Maten, and his wife, Marilyn, of Surprise, Arizona; five sisters, Jenieva Kastein, of Rock Rapids; Cia, and her husband, Chap Vander Ploeg, of Hospers; Harriet, and her husband, Wilbur Harmelink, of Orange City; and Mynie, and her husband, Gene Beernink, and Kaye, and her husband, Herb Kuyper, all of Sioux Center; a sister-in-law, Millie Vander Maten, of Boyden; and many nephews and nieces.

He was preceded in death by a brother, Hans Vander Maten; two sisters and their husbands, Gert and Bill Huisman and Allie and Myron Korver; and a brother-in-law, Peter Kastein.

Memorials may be directed to the Free Grace Reformed Church building fund.