Henrietta June (Tien) Van Kooten was born April  22, 1928, the daughter of Garrit and Gradda (Veldhuizen) Tien on the family farm near Prairie View, KS.  She entered the kingdom of Heaven on Wednesday, March 6, at the age of 90. She was the oldest of 10 children, and with that, began a lifetime of taking care of others.  Whether it was her siblings, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, or her own mother in her later years, she bestowed her Godly ways on everyone who crossed her path.

Henrietta attended school in Prairie View.  On May 7, 1947, she was united in marriage to Alfred Van Kooten at the Luctor parsonage by Rev. Simon Viss. Five wonderful children were blessed to call them Mom and Dad--Conrad, Judith, Karen, Ann, and Cynthia.  There was nothing more important to them than instilling the importance of hard work, honesty, love for family and friends, and most important of all, their faith in God.

Henrietta or "Granny", as she preferred to be called, could be found hustling and bustling in her kitchen, baking cookies, cinnamon rolls, wedding mints or any other delicious thing you can think of.  Her fried chicken in the harvest field was known to draw a crowd from far and wide. Many truck drivers, cowboys, mechanics, veterinarians, and others willingly headed to Van Kooten Farms around lunch time if it might include having a sample of her delicious food - and none of them ever left with empty stomachs.  Even the EMTs who arrived to pick her up after her fall were greeted by the inviting aroma of warm, freshly baked cookies.

Granny was always proud to share stories about her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She attended as many of their events as she possibly could.  She loved their concerts and open houses the most - not many students could say that they had 4 generations at their activities. If she was unable to be there in person, she was always anxious to see pictures or watch videos as soon as she could.  Granny loved sharing the fact that so many in her family were teachers or involved with helping others. She was always willing to sew a book bag or any crazy item that was brought to her for a classroom project. Whenever she heard of someone in need, from a coat, to a fruit basket, to anything in between, she would always make sure that it was taken care of anonymously.

Granny was an extremely talented seamstress - making bridesmaid dresses, baby quilts (of which every grandchild, great grandchild and great-great grandchild received), tea towels, doll clothes, Christmas program costumes, and curtains.  She also enjoyed crocheting afghans and rugs. Not to mention the countless pairs of jeans and overalls that were patched over the decades.

Granny was very involved with her church, her local community and the world.  She faithfully attended Luctor's Golden Hour and taught Sunday School for many years.  She was active with Hospice Services, baking cinnamon rolls for their auction each year.  Orphan Grain Train, where she donated countless blankets that she had sewn. TFC, where she and Alfred participated in the very first summer missionary trips to Cary, Mississippi.  She spent many hours helping at the Phillips County Food Pantry, her heart went out to all of the local people in need. She could be found attending meals at Westview and held all of her friends there near and dear.

Henrietta and Alfred did mission work during the winter months.  They worked at the Cary Christian Center in Cary, Mississippi a n d the Wyc l iffe Bib l e T r anslators. They loved traveling together.  They journeyed to the Holy Land and Europe where no one they met on their travels was a stranger.

Granny was a woman of prayer - Praying for anyone and everyone.  When asked to "pray for us" before meals, she literally prayed for everyone in the room and those who weren't.  Her beautiful prayers that she blessed family events with, will be missed by all those who knew her. She was always positive and trusted completely in God's love and grace.  She knew where she was going as she took her final breath, and looked forward to having all of us there with her someday.

Henrietta intended to spend her entire life in her home, on the farm.   She was able to achieve this goal with the help and support of her family.  She was always humble, but took pride in being a farm wife, mother, and grandmother.  She could drive a wheat truck with a baby on her lap, milk the cows, chase pigs, grind wheat for flour to make fresh bread, or run whatever errands necessary to pick up parts or people.  She always found time to read a good book, and loved to hold her grandchildren and great grandchildren on her lap and read books to them as well.

She was welcomed into Heaven by the love of her life, Alfred; her parents, brothers Arvid and Theron, sister Joyce, son in law Larry Schemper, granddaughter Jodi Griffin, and great-grandson Wyatt McKinney.

Those left to mourn her passing include her five children, Conrad Van Kooten and wife, Barbara of Long Island, KS; Judith Horne and husband, Gary of Grand Island, NE; Karen Van Kooten of McCook, NE; Ann Griffin and husband, Larry of Almena, KS; and Cynthia Schemper of Almena, KS.  Her siblings, Marie Bousema of Worthington, MN; Dorothy Huyser and husband Gerald of Des Moines, IA; Rosalee Verhoef of Artesia, California ; Arlo Tien and wife Carolyn of Prairie View, KS; Edward Tien and wife Barb of Phillipsburg, KS; Carman VanBeek of Sioux Center, IA; and special sister in law, Thelma Tien of Sheldon, IA.  14 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild, many nieces and nephews, and a multitude of friends.

"Although our hearts are broken, hers has been healed."

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 9, 2019 in the Luctor Christian Reformed Church with Gale Tien officiating.  Burial will follow in the Luctor Cemetery.

Mrs. Van Kooten will lie in state from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with family receiving friends from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. Friday evening.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Henrietta J. Van Kooten Memorial Fund, to be designated at a later time.