Maureen Louise Van Daalen

Maureen Louise Christensen Van Daalen, 77, of Dell Rapids passed away Wednesday, December 31, 2008.

Funeral services will begin at 2:00 PM Saturday, January 3, 2009 at the United Methodist Church in Dell Rapids. Burial will be in the Dell Rapids Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 3:00 PM with the family present from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Friday at the Minnehaha Funeral Home in Dell Rapids.

Maureen Louise was born July 19, 1931 in the Dell Rapids Hospital to parents Carl and Dena (Albers) Christensen. She attended Blinsmon Grade School and Egan Consolidated High School, graduating in 1949. She attended General Beadle College in Madison, receiving a certificate to teach country school. Maureen taught at Juve Country School in rural Moody County for two years. She had seventeen students in the seven grades. The building had a furnace with a thermostat, but did not have bathrooms.

Maureen married Wesley V. Van Daalen January 21, 1951 at Sioux Valley Baptist Church, rural Moody County. The couple took no time off for a honeymoon. They were married Saturday afternoon, spent the night in Sioux Falls, and were back home at four o’clock Sunday. They lived at Alan Miller’s house for one month before moving to her parents’ house while Carl and Dena traveled south. Before her folks left on vacation, they had a charivari at their home. There were people all over; banging on washtubs, hooting and hollering. No one drank any alcohol — they just ate and ate. Maureen did not know how to cook very well, so Wes bought soup by the case. He weighed over 200 pounds when they were married and quickly lost 30 pounds. That was a good thing! Maureen and Wes farmed east of Trent until 1981 when they moved to Dell Rapids. They spent winters at Siesta Village in Weslaco, Texas from 1996 to 2004.

Grateful for having shared her life are her husband, Wesley, Dell Rapids; two sons, Douglas and Rita, Mandan, North Dakota and Thomas and Shelly, Dell Rapids; five granddaughters, Cozette Lee and Ryan Eckroth, Bismarck, North Dakota, Amber Jo Van Daalen, Mandan, North Dakota and Courtney Lynn and Kyle Nordmeyer, Bismarck, North Dakota; Tina Marie Van Daalen, Sioux Falls and Crystal Leigh Van Daalen, Spearfish; three great-grandchildren; and numerous other relatives and friends.

Maureen was preceded in death by her parents and daughter, Patricia Van Holland in 1971.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be directed to the Dell Rapids Cemetery, Trent Schorship Fund or Dell Rapids Community Fund.