Mary Ann Veenendaal was born on Christmas day in 1930, to Andrew and Margaret (Van Gilst) Samson, at her parent’s home near Newton, Iowa. She attended country school near Reasnor, Iowa, and she graduated from Newton High School in 1949. On March 8, 1950, she married Jerry Veenendaal.
She met her husband at Newton Christian Reformed Church in the front row of the balcony, and as she handed him a hymn book, it was love at first sight. Mary Ann and Jerry were blessed with two children: Marvin Gene and Jeanne Eileen. After they moved to Pella, they joined the Third Reformed Church.
Mary Ann worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken and Maid Rite in Newton and then part-time at Pella Corp. Wanting to do more, she went to real estate college and became a realtor in Newton. At 50 years old, she went to truck driving school and received her CDL license so she would be near her husband who was a long distance semi driver.
They traveled coast to coast and were blessed to see the beauty of our country. Her grandkids also enjoyed traveling with them many times. When they retired, they provided and brought New Testaments from Highway Connection to truck-stops, so long distance drivers would be able to have a Bible to read.
They delivered 50,752 Bibles in ten years. After Jerry died, Mary Ann continued to deliver Bibles to truck-stops until she was 82 years old. They provided this service for 25 years.
During her free time, Mary Ann made blankets for a children’s AIDS orphanage in Honduras and was thankful she could do it. She also enjoyed Facebook, after she had surgery to remove cancer from her tongue and it was difficult to speak clearly. She enjoyed the comments on Facebook because she was understood clearly.
Every evening she would put a Bible verse on the computer and end by saying, “Love u all”. She was preceded in death by her husband Jerry, her parents Andrew and Margaret Samson, her brothers and sisters-in-law: Kathryn Samson, Leroy and Patty Veenendaal, and Art and Phyllis Bokhoven. She is survived by: Marvin and Nita Veenendaal, Mechanicsville, Iowa Jody and Alix Veenendaal, Oslo, Norway Tessa, Kaia Michael Veenendaal, New Castle, Colorado Jeanne and Larry Overton, Pomona, Missouri Amber and Chad Wallace, Monroe, Iowa Cody, Kara Jerry Overton, Pomona, Missouri Joel Overton, Indian Trail, North Carolina Jackson, Leighton Joshua and Megan Overton, Indianola, Iowa Hope, Xander, Maggie, Sydney, Mallory She is also survived by many nieces and nephews who loved their “Aunt Mickey”.
She will be greatly missed by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and many friends with the great caring love she had for each one of them and a living example of Jesus’s love within her. A special thank you to Amber for her great love for her grandma and always ready to help when she had problems and her frequent visits during the week.
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