IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Gradda
Tien
June 7, 1907 – December 21, 2013
Obituary
Gradda Tien was born June 7, 1907 to John and Hattie (Schemper) Veldhuizen in a sod house near Prairie View, KS. She passed away on December 21, 2013 at the age of 106.
Gradda attended a one room country school with 20 children and one teacher for all students grades 1st through 8th. She and her siblings walked to school 1 mile with lunch buckets in hand. In this school, Gradda learned to speak English, as she spoke only Dutch before she began school.
Later, the family moved to a wood frame house near Prairie View. She spoke of this house as being much warmer and the snakes couldn't get into it like they did in the sod house. Gradda was in the 6th grade and they lived 1½ miles from the school in Prairie View. One of her young brothers was not old enough to walk that far, so Gradda and her siblings drove a horse and buggy to school. They put the horse in a barn while they were in class.
On December 24, 1925, Gradda and her parents, 5 brothers, and 2 sisters moved to a farm in Tracy, Iowa in their 1919 Model T Ford Touring car. Gradda worked as a housemaid there and also at the Central Park Café in Pella, Iowa.
Gradda was united in marriage to Garrit Tien of Prairie View, KS on February 2, 1927 in Tracy, IA. Together, Gradda & Garrit returned to the Prairie View area to start their family and farm. They were blessed with 10 children. They continued farming until 1968 when they retired and moved into Prairie View. Garrit preceded her in death on April 21, 1971 at the age of 69.
Gradda was an active member of the Luctor Christian Reformed Church and attended regularly. She always looked forward to family gatherings and had homemade rolls and cookies just waiting to be shared. She spent many hours gardening and then canning and preserving the fruits and vegetables that she grew. She continued living on her own until December of 1999 when she went to live at the Phillips County Retirement Center. She enjoyed participating in all of the activities, especially attending the Wednesday afternoon Bible Study and attending the church services on Sunday afternoons as long as her health permitted. Gradda enjoyed listening to books on tape, especially books about history, much of which she had her own stories about.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, 3 children: Arvid in 1938, Theron in 2001, and Joyce Brower in 2013; 4 brothers: Jay, William, Albert, and Richard Veldhuizen; and one sister Hendreen Branderhorst, and 4 sons in law: Alfred Van Kooten, Herman Verhoef, Wayne VanBeek, and John Bousema; 1 grandson Rodney Allen Brower, 1 granddaughter, baby Tien, and 1 great-grand daughter, Jodi Ann Griffin.
Those left to mourn her passing include 7 of her children: Henrietta Van Kooten of Long Island, KS, Marie Bousema of Worthington, MN, Dorothy Huyser and husband Gerald of Des Moines, IA, Arlo Gale Tien and wife Carolyn of Prairie View, KS, Edward Tien and wife Barb of Phillipsburg, KS, Rosalee Verhoef of Artesia, CA, and Carmen Van Beek of Boyden, IA; a son in law Kenneth Brower of Sanborn, IA, and a daughter in law Thelma Tien of Sheldon, IA; a brother Dale Veldhuizen of Oskaloosa, IA, one sister Veda Bousema of Sanborn, IA.; 27 grandchildren, 67 great-grandchildren, and 52 great-great grandchildren.
Gradda's 106 years on this earth allowed her the joy of seeing all of her 156 descendants thus far. Her faith and resiliency through hard times, love of celebrating the good times, and the stories that she told her children, grand children, great-grandchildren, and great-great grand children will be cherished and passed on. It is hard to fathom the changes that Gradda saw in the world from the time she was a child until the time that she was called home. She leaves a wonderful Christian legacy and will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved her, but in her 106 years on earth, she created a heritage for more generations to come.
Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, December 26, 2013 in the Luctor Christian Reformed Church, Phillips County, KS, with Gale Tien officiating. Burial followed in the Luctor Cemetery, Phillips County.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Luctor Christian Reformed Church, Phillips County Retirement Center or Hospice Services, Inc.
Gradda attended a one room country school with 20 children and one teacher for all students grades 1st through 8th. She and her siblings walked to school 1 mile with lunch buckets in hand. In this school, Gradda learned to speak English, as she spoke only Dutch before she began school.
Later, the family moved to a wood frame house near Prairie View. She spoke of this house as being much warmer and the snakes couldn't get into it like they did in the sod house. Gradda was in the 6th grade and they lived 1½ miles from the school in Prairie View. One of her young brothers was not old enough to walk that far, so Gradda and her siblings drove a horse and buggy to school. They put the horse in a barn while they were in class.
On December 24, 1925, Gradda and her parents, 5 brothers, and 2 sisters moved to a farm in Tracy, Iowa in their 1919 Model T Ford Touring car. Gradda worked as a housemaid there and also at the Central Park Café in Pella, Iowa.
Gradda was united in marriage to Garrit Tien of Prairie View, KS on February 2, 1927 in Tracy, IA. Together, Gradda & Garrit returned to the Prairie View area to start their family and farm. They were blessed with 10 children. They continued farming until 1968 when they retired and moved into Prairie View. Garrit preceded her in death on April 21, 1971 at the age of 69.
Gradda was an active member of the Luctor Christian Reformed Church and attended regularly. She always looked forward to family gatherings and had homemade rolls and cookies just waiting to be shared. She spent many hours gardening and then canning and preserving the fruits and vegetables that she grew. She continued living on her own until December of 1999 when she went to live at the Phillips County Retirement Center. She enjoyed participating in all of the activities, especially attending the Wednesday afternoon Bible Study and attending the church services on Sunday afternoons as long as her health permitted. Gradda enjoyed listening to books on tape, especially books about history, much of which she had her own stories about.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, 3 children: Arvid in 1938, Theron in 2001, and Joyce Brower in 2013; 4 brothers: Jay, William, Albert, and Richard Veldhuizen; and one sister Hendreen Branderhorst, and 4 sons in law: Alfred Van Kooten, Herman Verhoef, Wayne VanBeek, and John Bousema; 1 grandson Rodney Allen Brower, 1 granddaughter, baby Tien, and 1 great-grand daughter, Jodi Ann Griffin.
Those left to mourn her passing include 7 of her children: Henrietta Van Kooten of Long Island, KS, Marie Bousema of Worthington, MN, Dorothy Huyser and husband Gerald of Des Moines, IA, Arlo Gale Tien and wife Carolyn of Prairie View, KS, Edward Tien and wife Barb of Phillipsburg, KS, Rosalee Verhoef of Artesia, CA, and Carmen Van Beek of Boyden, IA; a son in law Kenneth Brower of Sanborn, IA, and a daughter in law Thelma Tien of Sheldon, IA; a brother Dale Veldhuizen of Oskaloosa, IA, one sister Veda Bousema of Sanborn, IA.; 27 grandchildren, 67 great-grandchildren, and 52 great-great grandchildren.
Gradda's 106 years on this earth allowed her the joy of seeing all of her 156 descendants thus far. Her faith and resiliency through hard times, love of celebrating the good times, and the stories that she told her children, grand children, great-grandchildren, and great-great grand children will be cherished and passed on. It is hard to fathom the changes that Gradda saw in the world from the time she was a child until the time that she was called home. She leaves a wonderful Christian legacy and will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved her, but in her 106 years on earth, she created a heritage for more generations to come.
Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, December 26, 2013 in the Luctor Christian Reformed Church, Phillips County, KS, with Gale Tien officiating. Burial followed in the Luctor Cemetery, Phillips County.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Luctor Christian Reformed Church, Phillips County Retirement Center or Hospice Services, Inc.
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