Hollis Van Den Heuvel, 77

Hollis Van Den Heuvel, 77, of What Cheer, died peacefully at home on Sunday, November 24, 2024. Funeral service will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 30, 2024 at the What Cheer Methodist Church. Burial will be held privately in the Springfield Cemetery near Delta. Visitation with the family will be held on Friday, November 29, 2024 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Holland-Coble Funeral Home in What Cheer. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Tri-County Food Bank or the What Cheer Methodist Church. Friends and family may watch the funeral service live streamed on the What Cheer Methodist Church Facebook page.

Hollis Junior Van Den Heuvel, 77, of What Cheer, Iowa, passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, November 24, 2024, surrounded by his family. Hollis was born on September 27th, 1947, in Oskaloosa, Iowa, to Henry and Gertrude (Uitermarkt) Van Den Heuvel. Hollis spent his early childhood on a farm near Fremont, Iowa. His parents had him baptized in the Cedar Reform Church and raised him and his two older brothers, Jaren and Larkin, in a home rooted in faith. When he was in the 4th grade, Hollis and his family moved to a farmstead by Lacey, Iowa. He attended North Mahaska High School where he participated in basketball and choir, but his real love was baseball. After graduating in 1965, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels and played on their farm league team for two years until an unfortunate car accident ended his professional career.

 In February 1967, he met the love of his life, Anneke VanderBeek, at the Pella Roller Rink. He instantly fell in love while two-stepping backward on skates. Hollis and Ann were united in marriage on August 3rd, 1967, in Pella, IA. The couple began their life together on a rented farm north of What Cheer, Iowa, before purchasing their first farm two years later. In 1974, they moved into the family home they built on Highway 21 where they built a life and legacy together for the next 50 years. Hollis and Ann were blessed with three children: Ryan Jay (1974) Cory Lee (1979) and Holly Ann (1982) From a young age, Hollis developed a passion for farming, working alongside his father. He dreamed of passing down his love of the land and his pride of a family farm to the next generations. To Hollis, farming wasn’t a job, it was a way of life. He loved spending every day with his two sons working, building, and growing VDH Inc.

 He was especially proud when his first grandson, Garisin, joined the farm. Hollis witnessed all his hard work, dedication, and dreams being fulfilled with 3 generations working together on the family farm that he dedicated his life to building. Hollis’s love for sports extended far beyond his professional career. When he returned home, he was a catcher for a men’s fast pitch team until it hurt more the day after than it was fun the night before (around age 40). When he wasn’t playing, he was sharing his love of the game by coaching. His passion for coaching started with Ann and her women’s fast pitch team. As Hollis and Ann’s children grew, you would often see the entire family after church on Sundays in the front yard with the ball on a string working on keeping their eye on the ball or hitting pop-flies and making sure they always used two hands.

 Hollis gave his all to help guide and coach young athletes. He spent hours at the What Cheer ball diamonds coaching little league and later stepping up to be the assistant volleyball coach at Tri-County High School. Hollis knew nothing about the sport, but he spent hours studying it to make sure he could be the coach they needed. Later he helped coach Tri-County High School basketball and of course baseball. Hollis also spent hundreds of hours each wrestling season in the sauna coaching boys into young men. Later in life he could be found spending countless hours in the stands watching his 8 grandkids at their sporting events.

Faith and family were the cornerstone of Hollis’s life. He didn’t just talk about living a faithful life - he showed it by leading them in strong faith. No matter how much work there was to get done, the tractors were parked Saturday by midnight and his family would be in a church pew every Sunday morning. He made it a priority to pray before every meal and treasured watching each of his 8 grandchildren blessing the food during family gatherings. He believed there was nothing more important than ensuring his family was strong in faith for when it was their time to meet the Lord, he would say to each of them, “Well done good and faithful servant,” and they would all be together again.

Hollis is survived by his beloved wife of fifty-seven years, Ann; his two sons, Ryan (Keri) Van Den Heuvel and Cory (Lyndsay) Van Den Heuvel; his daughter, Holly Brink (Patrick Grassley); and his eight grandchildren: Garisin, Ryleigh, Kenzi, Baylen, Ryker, Harbor, Rhett and Lexi.

Hollis’s life was a testament of faith, love and perseverance. He lived his days serving God, cherishing his family and building a legacy that will endure for generations. May he forever live on in the hearts of his family and all who knew him.