Alyssa had the wonderful opportunity to know her paternal Great Grandparents for 12 years of her life, preserving into her memory their faces and stories to last her a lifetime. Jake and Arvena Schuring lived in a great Dutch community in Iowa their entire lives. The Dutch Settlers of 1847 founded the town of Pella, when they arrived in the United States seeking religious freedom.
Arvena Bernice Rietveld was born in Swan, Iowa on July 2, 1929 and was raised with 4 siblings. Funny that she had a sister named Arlene and another Dena, what a mouthful her mother had trying to round up the sisters for supper by screaming for ... Arvena, Arlene, & Dena!
Across town, Jacob Louis Schuring was born in Pella, Iowa, on February 2, 1924. His mom Elizabeth died 20 days after he was born due to complications from the birth. His dad remarried and with wife Henrietta they had 5 more children.
Jake received the PURPLE HEART while serving in the Navy.
He was on the Landing Ship Tank (LST)-749 when it sunk on 12/21/49 after being hit by a Japanese Kamikaze.
Many of the personnel on the ship died instantly. Apparently one survivor who was on deck at the time of the attack, dove in the water and swam to safety. He has written his memoir and it is housed with the University of Utah. We are going to have to get a read of that experience.
In 1947, when Arvena was just 17 years old, 22 year old Jake married her in Knoxville, Iowa on June 26th. Over the next 16 years, they had 5 children! Jake was a painter and owned a wall paper store, thus the reason Troy's dad knows how to paint! Arvena was a homemaker until her children left the home and then she was able to work as a nurse's aid for many years.
This great grandmother passed away at the age of 81, just 2 months ago on May 19th.
Near the end of Arvena's life, Jake had to do most of the caretaking. When she passed away, he found a lot of time to go to and fro into town. We thought he would live for many years and be able to take coffee each day at McDonald's with his buddies. However, he fell in the shower on Saturday July 9, and his health quickly declined. He went home today to reunite with his bride, meet his mother, and join his other family members.
Your earthly family loves you and misses you Jake, hope you enjoyed your journey here on Earth, you certainly had a good run! We thank you for our heritage and your service for the United States. We are sure you are happy back at home with our Heavenly Family!
It's only a short goodbye to Jake and Arvena, we will see you sooner than any of us can imagine!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.