IN MEMORIAM: William Van Wieren, 88;

Dutch Immigrant Farmed in West Winfield

NORWICH – William “Bill” Van Wieren, 88, a former truck driver who farmed in West Winfield for a time, died Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018.

Bill was born in Kommerzijl, the Netherlands on March 27, 1930,  to the late John and Anna (Snip) Van Wieren.  He immigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1947 at the age of 17 after the end of WWII.  He married Alice DeVries in 1952 and together had 12 children.

He had a long career in trucking near Middletown before purchasing a farm in West Winfield in 1973.

After over 40 blessed years of marriage, Alice passed away in 1993.  He then married Alma (Tillapaugh) in 1995 and enjoyed 21 years with her until her death in 2016.

Bill was always full of life and laughter, always had a song on his heart, was generous and very hard-working.  He took great pride in his work ethic, being early to work, church and any occasion, and worked from the age of 13 through 78.

Above all he loved the Lord and had a gift of spreading joy to others.  He served many years as an elder in the church and had a deep desire for each of his children, grand-children and great-grandchildren to love and serve the Lord as their Savior.

He is survived by his children Trudy Stellingwerf (Gary), John Van Wieren (Peggy), Andrea DeBoer (Ken), Cindy Burch (Orlo), Rita Walker (John Dugan), Jim Van Wieren (Kathy), Gloria Lacilla (Jeff), Liz Johnson (Matt), Jeff Van Wieren (Tera), Joel Van Wieren (Amanda),  his 31 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren, his sister Cobee Yess of Florida, Alice’s brother Hank (Janet), her sister Della (Garry), cousins, many nieces and nephews and a dear friend Irene Cook.  In addition to his two wives, he was predeceased by sons William Jr. and Jerry, and great-granddaughter Sydney.

A special heartfelt thanks to Irene Cook for selflessly caring for Dad in so many ways over the past few months.

Calling hour will be 11 am on Friday, Dec. 28 at the R.J. Fahy Funeral Home, 116 N Broad St., Norwich, with service to follow at noon.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of Chenango County, 21 Hayes Street, Norwich, NY 13815.