Marian Vander Vorst, 90, of Pollock, SD formerly of Westfield, ND, died peacefully with her family by her side, at the Strasburg Care Center, on Sunday, September 10, 2017.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 am on Friday, September 15, 2017 at Hope Reformed Church, Westfield with Pastor Shawn Abbas officiating.

Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at Myers Funeral Home, Linton, and continue from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the church where a Prayer Service will be held at 7:00 pm.

Burial will be at the Westfield Cemetery.

Marian was born on September 13, 1926, to George and Christina (Bollinger) Wittmeier on the family farm in the Gale community, near Pollock. She attended Gale Elementary and Pollock High School, graduating in 1944. After marrying the love of her life Harley Vander Vorst, on January 12, 1946, the newlyweds moved onto the family farm, near Westfield. This was the farm on which Harley was born and raised, and which was originally homesteaded by his grandfather Johannes Vander Vorst. There Harley and Marian grew small grains, raised cattle and milked cows.

True to her heritage, Marian's greatest devotion was to her family. She and Harley raised five children on the family farm, which is now owned by their son Mark. Farm life was filled with hard work and raising children, but was also punctuated with many family gatherings and activities at the Hope Reformed Church in Westfield. She taught Sunday School and Bible School and was a member of the guild. Marian's parents retired to Mobridge South Dakota and were frequent visitors.  Harley's parents lived nearby in Westfield, where the extended family would gather after church nearly every Sunday. The tragedy in Marian and Harley's lives was the death of Pamela, their 13-year old daughter, in a car accident in 1967. After retirement, in 1998, they moved from the farm to Pollock where Marian was happy to be near her daughter Leanne Jakobsen, Leanne's husband Larry, and their two granddaughters Kiley and Lindsey. In 2010, Marian and Harley moved to the Good Samaritan Center in Herreid, South Dakota, and later were residents of the Strasburg Care Center in Strasburg. Marian and Harley celebrated their 68 ^th wedding anniversary in 2014.

To her family and friends, Marian is most remembered for her quiet, strong spirit and her patient, loving, and caring nature. She never raised her voice in anger or said an unkind word, and was able to find peace, even in the face of great tragedy. She loved baking and spending time with her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed sewing, especially making doll clothes for her grandchildren, and baking chocolate chip cookies. She was known for her canned fruits and jellies, brownies, buns, date cookies, and graham cracker pie.

She is survived by three sons and a daughter-in-law, Michael and Karen Vander Vorst of Del Mar California, Dale Vander Vorst of Mandan North Dakota, and Mark Vander Vorst of Westfield; one daughter and son-in-law, Leanne and Larry Jakobsen of Pollock; 10 grandchildren; Mitchell Vander Vorst, Dawn (Jason) Sauer, Amy Denhart Zahrobsky, Tony (Shelley) Vander Vorst, Damon (Jennifer) Vander Vorst, Amanda Thompson, Kris (Melissa) Strokland, Kim (Chad) Gifford, Kiley (Jesse) Gosch and Lindsey Jakobsen; 13 great-grandchildren, and one sister-in-law, Florence Wittmeier.

She was preceded in death by her husband Harley; her daughter Pamela; her parents, George & Christina Wittmeier; three sisters, Irene (Bootsma), Dorothy (Vander Vorst), and Cleo (Norton); and three brothers, Robert, John, and Maynard Wittmeier.