June Elaine Vonk

August 21, 1940 - May 20, 2020

June Elaine Vonk, 79, of Oskaloosa, died Wednesday, May 20, 2020, at the MHP Hospice Serenity House in Oskaloosa. She was born August 21, 1940, at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa, the daughter of Everett and Willena L. Plette Engelhoven. June attended Rural Red Country School until the middle of 6th grade and later graduated from Cedar High School with the class of 1958. On March 20, 1959, she was united in marriage to Melvin Vonk at the Central Reformed Church in Oskaloosa. Following their marriage, the couple moved to Newton, and June worked in the office at Maytag. After one year in Newton, they moved back to Mahaska County and started farming south of Oskaloosa. In addition to helping Melvin on the farm June stayed busy caring for their three children, Randy, Delwin, and Melanie. She was a member of Central Reformed Church where she was a dedicated volunteer helping with Sunday School, Bible School, and women’s ministries. June delighted in spending time with her family, and always looked forward to cooking for family get togethers. She and Melvin made it a point to attend as many of their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren’s events. She also enjoyed collecting giraffes. Her family includes her husband of over 61 years, Melvin Vonk of Oskaloosa; three children and their spouses: Randy and Arlene Vonk of Oskaloosa, Delwin and Joyce Vonk of Oskaloosa and Melanie and Steve Sopher of Belmond, Iowa; her grandchildren: Greg Vonk of Sun Prairie, WI; Brandon (Kate) Vonk of Oskaloosa, Amber Vonk of Des Moines, Jennifer (Seth) Gordon of Madrid, IA; Ashley (Tom) Ehlers of Cascade, IA; Brad (Airianne) Vonk of Ottumwa and Mallory, Marissa and Shea Sopher all of Belmond, IA; great grandchildren: Hayden, Sawyer and Bennett Ehlers, Allison Vonk, Brynn Vonk, Avery June Vonk , Blake Gordon and two brothers: Garlyn (Irene) Engelhoven of Oskaloosa, and Byron Engelhoven of Oskaloosa. June was preceded in death by her parents; 3 nephews and a sister-in-law, Evelyn Engelhoven. Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 23, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. in the Central Reformed Church in Oskaloosa with Reverend Jon Nelson officiating. Burial will be in the Evergreen Cemetery near Leighton. According to the rules put in place by the Iowa Department of Public Health, proper social distancing and reasonable personal protective equipment is advised for attending a religious public event. The funeral ceremony and the graveside service will be live streamed at the funeral home’s YouTube Channel for those wishing to support the family from a distance. The Bates Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. Open visitation with a rolling limit of 10 in the building at any given time will begin on Friday after 3 p.m. in the Bates Funeral Chapel until 7 p.m. Friday evening. The family will be at the church Saturday morning from 9 a.m. until service time at 10:30 a.m. Memorials may be made to the Central Reformed Church.