Rosetta Jane Van Marel, 77, Beaver Creek, died Friday, Nov. 29, 2019, at the Sanford Luverne Hospice Cottage in Luverne.
A funeral service was Monday, Dec. 2, at the American Reformed Church in Luverne. Burial followed at Memory Gardens Cemetery near Luverne.
Rosetta Kooiman was born March 25, 1942, to William and Jesse (Vander Woude) Kooiman at home on the family farm located at Diamond Corner near Woodstock. She was baptized at the Reformed Church in Edgerton. Rosetta attended Edgerton Public School, graduating in 1959. She worked as a bank employee in Pipestone.
On March 4, 1964, Rosetta married Arnold Van Marel during a double wedding ceremony with Arnold’s brother, Alvin, and Rosetta’s sister, Clarella, in Edgerton. When Arnold and Rosetta started their family, Rosetta stayed home to raise their three children. The young family moved to Luverne before settling on an acreage on the north edge of Beaver Creek in the spring of 1976.
Rosetta entered the workforce once again as a bank employee for First National Bank, which later became Minnwest Bank and First Farmers and Merchants Bank, all in Luverne. In 1993 she furthered her education by attending Worthington Community College in Worthington and received her associate’s degree in 1993. She continued her education at the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in business, graduating cum laude in 1996. She was a secretary at the State of South Dakota School of Medicine and later a secretary for the State of South Dakota Disability Determination Service. In 2008 she retired.
Rosetta was a member of the American Reformed Church in Luverne. She was a member of the Women’s Guild and served several years as the president and treasurer. She taught catechism and Sunday school for 18 years. She was an accompanist for the Junior Choir for 17 years. Rosetta was a teacher’s aide at the Beaver Creek Elementary School.
In her spare time, she enjoyed playing the piano and sewing. She even sewed her own wedding dress.
She is survived by her husband, Arnold Van Marel of Beaver Creek; children Douglas (Esther) Van Marel of Three Rivers, Michigan, Brian (Amy) Van Marel of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and Nyla (Stephen) Schwartz of Vicksburg, Michigan; 13 grandchildren, (Douglas): Sarah, Abigail, Rebekah, and Rachel, (Brian): Sophia and Ethan, (Nyla): Zachary, Caleb, Lydia, Elizabeth, Joshua, Jonathan, and Jeremiah; siblings Clarella (Alvin) Van Marel of Boyden, Iowa, Elberta DeJager of Edgerton, Joyce (Merle) Klosterbuer of Worthington, and Alvin (Alvina) Kooiman of Sioux Center, Iowa.
She was preceded in death by her parents; a brother-in-law, John DeJager; and a daughter-in-law, Kimberly Van Marel.
Memorials are preferred to the Gideons.
Arrangements are provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne, www.hartquistfuneral.com.
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