Obituaries

Ada Elizabeth Van De Weert, 88, longtime Ferrisburgh resident

ADA ELIZABETH VAN DE WEERT

BYRON CENTER, Mich. — Ada Elizabeth Van De Weert passed on to her heavenly home on April 1, 2023.

She was born the youngest child to Gerben (Garry) and Lijsbert (Elizabeth) Elzinga in Nijemirdum, Friesland in The Netherlands on June 17, 1934. At the age of 12 she immigrated to America with her family on the Queen Elizabeth, through Ellis Island, and the family settled on a farm near Sussex, N.J. Her nurturing spirit and tremendous work ethic came to light just four years later, when at the age of 16, Ada left school to help financially support her family and care for her ailing mother.

She met her husband, Albert Van De Weert, at a church Labor Day picnic in 1953. A memory she’d share fondly as “the best day of her life.” On July 7, 1954, they were married in Sussex, N.J., and began farming in Warwick, N.Y. In Oct. 1965 they moved, along with their six children, to Ferrisburgh, Vt., where they owned and operated Pleasant Acres Dairy on Route 7 for nearly four decades. In 1968 their family grew once more with the addition of their seventh and final child. In the years to follow they would be blessed with dozens of grandchildren and great grandchildren, raising a family centered around faith, generosity, and love.

Ada had a true talent for making a house a home. She was a skilled seamstress, baker, gardener, and caretaker; providing childcare for many grandchildren and several local families over the years, remaining close with each of them.

She was predeceased by her husband, Albert, of 62 years in July 2016; together they enjoyed many years of fellowship as members of the New Haven United Reformed Church in New Haven, Vt. In June 2021 she relocated from their Ferrisburgh home to Byron Center, Mich., where she joined Trinity United Reformed Church and enjoyed her final years with her daughter, Jean.

Ada was also predeceased by her two oldest sons, Ken in August 2003 and Don in April 2006, as well as her parents, stepmother Wilhelmina Elzinga, brothers Symon and Garry, and sisters Grace, Jantje, and Joanne.

She is survived by five children: Shari (Adriaan) Verburg, Tim (Ellie Beltrani), Rick, Lisa (John) Evarts, and Jean Entingh (Tod Van Doeselaar), two daughters-in-law: Marilyn Van De Weert Evans and Emily Van De Weert, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was deeply loved and will be greatly missed.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, April 15, at 11 a.m., at the New Haven United Reformed Church, 1660 Ethan Allen Highway (Route 7), New Haven, Vt., with visitation prior to the service beginning at 10 a.m. She will be laid to rest beside her husband in Prospect Cemetery in Vergennes.

Those unable to join Ada’s celebration of life in person may join the livestream on the church’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/@newhavenunitedreformedchur3476.

We would like to thank all of the medical professionals at Faith Hospice, as well as Dr. Winget at UVM Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont, for the excellent care and support provided to our Mom and Grammie over the last several years. Memorial contributions may be made to the Addison County Benefit Pull, P.O. Box 126, Vergennes, VT 05491 or Faith Hospice, 8214 Pfeiffer Farms Drive SW, Byron Center, MI 49315.

Arrangements under the direction of Sanderson-Ducharme Funeral Home.

Online condolences at www.sandersonfuneralservice.com. ◊

 

 

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