Arend John Klarenbeek, 81, Luverne, died Saturday, July 9, 2022, at the Sanford Luverne Hospice Cottage.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 15, at the Luverne Christian Reformed Church. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 16, at the church. Burial will be prior to the service at Eastside Cemetery near Steen.
Arend John Klarenbeek was born on Jan. 2, 1941, to Henry and Dena (Bos) Klarenbeek in Rock Rapids, Iowa. John, as he preferred to be called, attended country school and then Hills Public School in Hills for one year before opting to work for a local farmer.
On May 24, 1960, John married Joanne Top at the Christian Reformed Church in Hills. During his lifetime, John was a contractor for a construction company, worked at the elevator for four years, purchased a piece of land west of Blue Mounds State Park in Luverne, was employed at IBP for 9 1/2 years, and worked at the grocery store for 2 1/2 years. They moved to Mountain Grove, Missouri for 4 1/2 years before moving back to an acreage south of Luverne in 1982. John operated a rendering business for 21 years before turning it over to his children and semi-retiring. In October 2017, John and Joanne moved into Luverne.
John was a member of the Christian Reformed Church in Luverne, where he served as a deacon and attended a men’s Bible study. His hobbies included restoring tractors and older pickup trucks.
John is survived by his wife, Joanne Klarenbeek, of Luverne; four children, Brad (Janna) Klarenbeek, Alan (Pam) Klarenbeek, Dennis (Vonda) Klarenbeek, and Joni (Dale) Wynia, all of Luverne; eight grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; siblings Marinus (Mildred) Klarenbeek of Steen, Hermina Gerritsen of Rock Rapids, Iowa, Art (Joey) Klarenbeek of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Diane Klarenbeek of Luverne; sister-in-law MaryAnn (Klarenbeek) Zylstra of Edgerton; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brother Henry Klarenbeek; brother-in-law John Gerritsen; grandson-in-law Zachary Cowell; nephew Arlin Klarenbeek; and niece Gloria Vande Hoef.
Arrangements are provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne, hartquistfuneral.com.
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