Ronald Allen Zwart

Ronald Allen Zwart, 79, of rural Hawarden, Iowa, passed away on Sunday, December 3, 2023, at Avera Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Celebration Of Life Service will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, December 8, 2023, at the Hawarden Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in Hawarden, with his son, Rev. Steve Zwart, officiating. Burial will follow at Grace Hill Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thursday at the Hawarden Christian Reformed Church. The Porter Funeral Home in Hawarden is assisting the family.

The service will be livestreamed at lttp://livestream.com/hawardencrc. Memorials will be designated at a later time by the family.

Ron was born on June 3, 1944, in Hawarden, Iowa, the first-born of six to Edward and Wilhelmina “Minnie” (Zwiers) Zwart.  While growing up on the family farm north of Hawarden, Ron completed his schooling, graduating from Western Christian High School in 1962.  A short time later, he married the love of his life, Ruth Sinkey, from Ireton, Iowa.  They were married as part of the New Years Day services on January 1, 1965, at the Ireton CRC.

Farming has been in Ron’s blood all his life.  Not only in childhood, but all his nearly 56 years of married life as well.  With the help of his father, and the partnership of his brother, Delbert, and with the lifelong love of his life, Ruth, by his side, Long View Farms was birthed.  This operation started with dairy on the farm site he would call home the rest of his life.  In partnership, this operation expanded to include grain farming, a hog operation, feeding cattle, and lambing.  In the early days with communication by CB’s, “Dairy-King” and “Dairy-Queen” kept in touch with “Red-Streak” (Delbert) and “Go-Jo” (Betty) to keep things flowing!

As the farming operation expanded, so did Ron’s crew of “helpers”.  In a brief period of 7 years, Ron and Ruth on-boarded the next generation: Joan Ruth (’65), Steven Allen (’68), Glen Edward (’71), and Tricia Ann (’72).  Everybody got involved – all had chores to do: snow to shovel in the winter, calves to feed before school, pens to shovel after school, silage to chop, hay to bale, corn to pick and shell, and so much more.  A hard work ethic lives on as a legacy and testament to the devotion and commitment Ron displayed in both lean years, and years of abundance.

As the farming years began to wane, Ron focused more on spending time with his dear wife, traveling to see kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids or just enjoying a relaxing evening at home with just the two of them.  They even ventured to the Florida sun a few times to escape the cold Midwest winter, enjoying the sunshine in shorts and sipping cool beverages in the shade of the afternoon. 

These sunset years took an abrupt turn on December 30, 2020, when, in the midst of the morning’s honored routine of Dad making breakfast and Mom getting ready for the day, Ron’s lifelong, cherished love suddenly left this earth for her eternal glory.  Life was never quite the same after that as the days seemed long and quiet.  Nevertheless, Ron persevered and found a way through the lonely days and developed new routines to fill his day.  He stayed close to the farming operations of his son and those sprouting up of his grandsons.  In fact, in the final hours of his earthly journey, he still wanted to hear about markets, prices, and what side of the corn pile the cattle were being fed from.  He also enjoyed solitaire on the iPad, farm programs on TV, as well as all keeping up with the new adventures of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, especially when he could enjoy them over the internet and Facetime when they lived far away.

The rhythm of life that accompanied farm life found its way into meaningful relationships throughout the years by time spent hosting pastor families at the farm, assisting the FoodBank ministry in Hawarden, helping serve at church, and building lifelong friendships with so many people he would meet.

The most important rhythm of his life was his faith.  He was one who cherished deeply his faith in God, though vocally quiet about it.  Nevertheless, there were obvious patterns of faith that marked his journey:  daily, at every meal till his last day, reciting the Lord’s Prayer in way that invoked reverence and respect, devotions at every meal, faithfully attending church – morning and night (even when equipment would break down on Sundays!), and singing hymns and gospel songs, whether he had a group of people around him or one of those favorites came on the radio or TV.  He loved the songs of the faith!

His earthly journey ended in a season of growing physical challenges and limitations.  Yet, he was always one not to burden others with his woe, but always sought to bring a smile to the faces that tended his side as things got tough. His boisterous laughter was known and contagious. In that final moment of release, the peace of God washed over him as he left us but he heard his name called, and the words spoken over him: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  And with that, we hope he found a spot amidst the great cloud of witnesses next to mom so that they could together worship their Savior and Lord for eternity.

Ron is survived by his four children: Joan (& Dennis) Hoogendoorn of Lester, IA; Steven (& Angela) Zwart of Prinsburg, MN.; Glen (& Brenda) Zwart of Ireton, IA.; and Tricia (& Rylan) Van Zee of Sioux Falls, SD.  Also are surviving are 33 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren:

Joan (Zwart) Hoogendoorn family: Karen & Noah Hughes and children: Addison Ahrenholz, Aubrey Ahrenholz, Micah Ahrenholz, Daniel Hughes, Sadie Hughes; Mark & significant other Nikki Krupicka; Brent & Vanessa and children: Brentley, Lincoln, Jaxson, Garrett; Kyle & Emily; Amy and significant other Dakota Torrey.

Steven Zwart family: Zach & fiancé Katie DeVries, Abigail & Parker Wierda, Aaron & Kennedy, Alizabeth and Edward Mulder, Skyler, Seth, and Samuel.

Glen Zwart family:  Chris & Morgan Zimbelman and children: Emersyn, Liam, Leighton, and Ellie; Ariel & Brady Koopmans; Cole, Logan, Courtney & significant other Wes; and Alexis.

Tricia (Zwart) Van Zee family:  Dustin & Jess, Dylan

Ron is also survived by his brothers: Verlyn (& Donna) of Hawarden, IA., Merlin (& Bev) of Sioux Center, IA., and Gerald (& Jane) of Inwood, IA., sister-in-law Betty Zwart of Hawarden, and brother-in-law Louie Wynia of Walnut Grove, MN.  He is also survived by many other beloved relatives.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents; his in-laws Frank & Clara Sinkey, his beloved wife Ruth, brother Delbert, sister Julie (Wynia), grandson Timothy Edward Zwart, and grandson Alex Zwart.

Blessed by the memory of Ronald Allen Zwart.