Who was Clemons Joseph VanVoorhis?
His name was more than just a name. Clemons was derived from the surname of the Clemons family, high Grandmother's maiden name. Joseph - a Biblical name, the husband of Mary and earthly father of Jesus. VanVoorhis is of Dutch origin. In fact, we all have wooden shoes and windmill pictures. Van means "from" - voor means "in front of" - VanVoorhis means "in front of the village of Hees." He was known by various people as Clemons, Clem, CJ, Van, Dad, Grandpa Van and Great Grandpa Van.
Clemons was born on July 3, 1927 to Reginald and Edna. He spend his childhood growing up in Storm Lake, Iowa. At age 12 Edna died and Reginald remarried to Clemons' Aunt Blanche. He had two younger brothers, Mark, married to Bonnie, and Lee, married to Ruth. he grew up with a fundamental Christian background; his grandfather Frank was a preacher. When asked to recount his favorite childhood memory, Clemons talked about his Grandfather and the time he spend with him excavating a Native American site near Alta Iowa and the many arrowheads they found there. After graduating from Storm Lake High School, Clemons spent two years at Minnesota Bible College. He then served in the Army from October 4, 1946 to April 12, 1948 and spent his tour of duty in Japan. After honorable discharge from the service, he attended Drake University and graduated in May 1952 with a BS in Business Administration. He moved to the Twin Cities to work and he attended University Church of Christ where he met the love of his life - Noreen.
Clem and Noreen were married on March 31, 1956. The Two became One and were married for 53 years. They were blessed with two boys, Glenn and Paul. CJ worked as a custodian at Gillette State Hospital and Noreen worked at Honeywell. Glenn and Paul grew up in a stable environment and learned the meaning of a good work ethic, like father like sons. We enjoyed many family times taking vacations across the country. Playing ping-pong, going to baseball games, and fishing were a few of Dad's favorite pastimes. Dad was always doing something, including washing dishes every night after dinner. He rarely could sit still and if he did, he would be listening to WCCO on the radio. A fundamental, conservative Republican, his Christian faith was his rock. He supported youth groups and eventually bought a house in SE Minneapolis used for Christian Student Fellowship meetings. This was the house he rented to college aged girls, one of whom was Kathy, Paul's wife - thanks Dad! He continued to support the college aged group and that's he he got to know Dave Burkum. Thanks Dave, for spending so much time with him in the later years - it meant a lot to both him and Mom. Hopefully you enjoyed the cookies and conversation as much as he did.
Dad and Mom became empty nesters. They traveled the world. They walked around Como Lake again and again. Van became interested in radio remote control boats. This became his favorite pastime in his retirement years. He was a member of the Twin City Model Boat Club and the Edina Model Yacht Club. Dad and Mom travelled from Florida to Vancouver BC racing boats. He always had great fun and usually came home with ribbons and trophies. I think Mom served time as the pit crew a time or two. He would tinker with his boats all year long.
The family grew and Dad and Mom became grandparents. Dad was Grandpa to Scott, Brett and Dawn - children of Paul and Kathy. Grandpa was a "real pushover." Every Christmas was spent in rainy grey Seattle. The neighbors knew they were in town during one visit when it snowed and we had the only shoveled, snow-free driveway in the neighborhood. Grandpa always had a new word to teach us, and he was none to happy if we already knew what the word meant. He always had a newly acquired taste, the "flavor of the visit." Yes, the grandkids had to try tabasco sauce on pizza! Every other summer, Paul, Kathy and the grandkids would trek across the country for the annual visit, camping along the way. Remember the wolf howling on the Echo Trail in Northern Minnesota. In our family, these were "van-tastic" times!
Dad became Great Grandpa Van when Scott and wife Jessica were married. His two great grandsons are Leif (11) and Ahser (5). Leif has proudly presented the VanVoorhis family heritage as a project for school. The family continued to grow when Brett married Stephanie. Grandpa's last visit to Seattle was for their wedding. Dawn, the only grand-daughter is single for now.
Van and his family were growing up and growing older. Van was growing older. His aches and pains became significant. Dr. Nichols and the staff at the pain clinic knew him as Van. They helped in every way possible. He spent his days sitting in the back yard counting airplanes, watching birds and listening to the radio. He watch his cat, Benny Boy, and his cat watched him. Glenn supplied the Ensure and provided Holiday celebrations. Also known as Mr. Fix-It, Glenn and his help was only a phone call away. He was also Kathy and Paul's virtual informant, providing cell phone and email updates at a minute's notice. Thank you, Glenn, for carrying the load and helping out in such a huge way.
In his last days, Dad spent time sleeping, resting and talking with Mom and Benny in the upstairs bedroom. His faithful wife of 53 years was always there, never wavering. She cared for her husband in sickness and in health, til death did they part.
So, who was Clemons Joseph VanVoorhis? He was known as Clemons, Clem, CJ, Van, Grandpa Van, Great Grandpa Van and Glenn and my's Dad. On August 31, 2010, Dad passed away at the age of 83. His earthly life is complete. The story is told. He is smiling down on us today and he has no more pain. As we celebrate his journey, we know that Victory is his. Dad, we thank you, we love you, and we'll see you again one day in Heaven.
