Henrietta Vanden Bosch

Rock Valley, IA: Henrietta Vanden Bosch, 97, of Rock Valley, Iowa, passed away Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at RiverView Ridge in Rock Valley. A memorial service will be held Tuesday, August 18, at 11:00 AM at First Christian Reformed Church in Rock Valley with Rev. Matthew Haan officiating. The service will be livestreamed at https://www.christianworldmedia.com/livechannel/firstcrcrv. Burial will be held prior to the service at Valley View Cemetery in Rock Valley. Visitation with the family present will be held Monday, August 17 from 5:30-7:00 PM at First CRC in Rock Valley.

   Memorial donations may be directed to Rock Valley Christian School or Western Christian High School in Hull, Iowa. 

   Henrietta Vanden Bosch was born to Ed and Hattie (De Vries) Van Maanen on October 3, 1928, on the family farm north of Rock Valley, Iowa where she lived all her growing up years. She was the fourth child, welcomed by two older brothers, Gerrit and John, an older sister, Wilhemina, and later two younger brothers joined the family, Henry and Jim.

   She attended Rock Valley Christian School, graduating in 1942, and was the first of her family to go to high school. She went to Western Christian High School in Hull, Iowa where she was involved in choir and played basketball, graduating in 1946. She then attended summer school at Westmar College in LeMars, Iowa for six weeks and accepted a job at Sheldon Christian School in Sheldon, Iowa, where as a 17-year-old jumped into teaching in a classroom of over forty 3rd through 5th grade students the first two years, and then only 3rd and 4th graders the third year.

   After dating Art Vanden Bosch for three years, they were married on June 15, 1949, at the First Christian Reformed Church in Rock Valley, where they were both life-long members. Art and “Henny,” the new nickname given to her by her husband, lived on three different farms for the first 43 years of their marriage, all which were north of Rock Valley. She spent those years as a dedicated mom raising her children, being a supportive farm wife, and assisting her husband to minister to many people. In December of 1992, Art and Henny moved to their much-loved home on Main Street in Rock Valley. Art passed away on July 16, 2003.

   Hospitality was one of her gifts and she continued inviting others to her home throughout her life. She spent many years giving piano lessons and leading various Bible studies, doing both of these into her 80s. She enjoyed planting flowers and having a garden and canning the produce. Her fourteen grandchildren were her pride and joy, and when her great grandchildren started arriving, she became known as “great grandma white” to some of them. She was an avid prayer warrior for all her family members, friends, church members, as well as the nation and the world, as evidenced by the many notebooks of her daily written prayers. She spent much time reading her Bible and especially enjoyed reading the Psalms and then singing them from the blue Psalter Hymnal.

   Attending church was a highlight of each week. Her life changed in April of 2021, when she fell at church and broke her leg. After surgery and time in the hospital, she moved to Riverview Ridge and adjusted to making that her home for the last five years of her life. The family is very thankful for the care and love she received from the staff there.

   Henrietta’s favorite scripture was Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.” She truly lived this out as she trusted in the Lord with all her heart to direct her paths.

Henrietta is survived by her five children and their families:

Bob and Barb Vanden Bosch (Fulton, Missouri)

          Robert and Erin Vanden Bosch (deceased)

          Kyle and Jess Vanden Bosch

                    Logan and Jorja, Cooper, Memphis

          Katie and Phillip Boyce

Don and Jan Vanden Bosch (Rock Valley, Iowa)

          Dan Vanden Bosch

          Mark Vanden Bosch

                    Dennis, Denyia, Diaja Alexander

          Matt and Daphne Vanden Bosch

                    Emelia, Vera

Evan and Wanda Vanden Bosch (Rock Valley, Iowa)

          Kristin and David Contant

                    Sarah, Elise

          Brad and Anna Vanden Bosch

                    Kade, Keaton

          Kim and Craig Humphreys

                    Sydney, Carter, Lennon

Mary and George Bierma (Sioux Center, Iowa)

          Bethany and Peter Gates

          Jon and Laura Bierma

                    Daisy

          Tim and Carolyn Bierma

          Faith Bierma

          Anna Bierma

Ruth and Mike Sauers (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)

          Luke Sauers

   Henrietta is also survived by two sister-in laws, Nancy Vanden Bosch of Sioux Center, Iowa, and Nelma Vanden Bosch of Worthington, Minnesota.

   Henrietta was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Art; twin grandchildren, Robert Alan and Erin Joy Vanden Bosch; siblings and their spouses, Gerrit and Berdena Van Maanen, Hubert and Wilhemina Landegent, John and Ruth Van Maanen, Henry and Anita Van Maanen, and Jim and Elda Van Maanen; and Art’s siblings and their spouses, George and Tillie Dorhout, Tom and Laura Vanden Bosch, Bert and Lois Vanden Bosch, George and Grace Haney, John and Lenora De Wit, Roger and Esther Cleveringa, Mike Vanden Bosch, and Floyd Vanden Bosch.