Lois Visser, 89, of Lady Lake,passed away Jan. 1, 2014, at Cornerstone Hospice House in The Villages.
Memorial services will be 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 16, at Immanuel Christian Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa. The Rev. Robert Drenten will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service Friday, May 16, in West Lawn Cemetery. There will be a family prayer service at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 16, at Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City. You may express your sympathy at www.oolman.com.
Lois Lorraine was born on Aug. 24, 1924, in Doon, Iowa, the daughter of John J. “Joe” and Johanna (Noteboom) Reinders. She was raised on a farm south of Orange City.
On Oct. 1, 1942, she married Arnold Vander Wilt at her family farm. He passed away on Nov. 29, 1944, near the Davis Mountain Base in Tucson, Ariz.
On Feb. 5, 1946, she married Henry Visser at the Orange City, Iowa town hall. He passed away on Nov. 11, 1969, in Orange City.
Except from 1983 to 1986, when she lived in New Mexico, Lois made her home in Orange City, where she was a homemaker. She was also a cook at Northwestern College in Orange City for more than 20 years, retiring at the age of 70. In 1997, she moved to Florida, where she lived at Water Oaks in Lady Lake.
She was a member of New Life Presbyterian Church in Lady Lake. She was active in Carpenters for Christ, where she operated their thrift store. She was also the cook for the church’s monthly brunches and on their mission trips to West Virginia.
In earlier years, Mrs. Visser belonged to First Christian Reformed Church in Orange City, where she served as an organist and pianist. She also participated in the Monica Society. She was an avid bowler and a world traveler.
Survivors include her six children, Darlo Vander Wilt and his wife, Terri, of Albuquerque, N.M., Linda Tolonen of Granville, Iowa, Joel Visser and his wife, Mary, of Hudsonville, Mich., Bruce Visser of Fort Pierce, Fla., Stanton Visser and his wife, Linda, of Orange City, and Alan Visser and his wife, Carilee, of Port Saint Lucia, Fla.; 19 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Margaret Post of Kingsley, Iowa; five sisters-in-law, Arta Plender of Orange City, Virginia Vander Wilt of Mesa, Ariz., and Marie Rowenhorst, Everly Visser, and Margery Visser, all of Orange City; and a brother-in-law, Randall Van Gelder of Orange City.
In addition to her husbands and parents, she was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Paul J. Tolonen; a sister and her husband, Viola and Arthur Kleinhesselink; five brothers-in-law, John Post, Ivan Visser, Clarence Visser, Paul Visser, and Merlin Rowenhorst; two sisters-in-law, Bertha Van Gelder and Alma Andringa; and nephews and nieces, JoEllen Kauk, Carla Vander Wilt, Peter Vander Wilt, Lenny Visser, Lisa Visser, and Sheila Visser.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Carpenters for Christ, c/o New Life Presbyterian Church, 201 LaVista St., Fruitland Park, FL 34731.
