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2019
LOUIS P. VANDE VOORDE
January 13, 1933 ˜ July 19, 2019
Louis P. Vande Voorde, age 86, passed away on Friday, July 19, 2019 at St. Luke’s Hospital in downtown Boise, ID. He was born on January 13, 1933 in rural Pipestone County, MN to northern Belgian immigrants, Edmond Vande Voorde and Martha Van Hoecke, where he joined brother Ramie and sister Lorraine. Later on, brother Bob and sister Rosemarie were welcomed to the family.
Lou’s father was a former spy for the Allies during World War I. That fact makes all of us in the family very proud. We did win the war, thanks to many brave men like him.
His mother was a child raised in a war-torn country by her widowed mother, Marie Van Vooren.
Lou’s parents both came to America not knowing each other, but they met when they both settled in a Belgian community near Jasper in southwest Minnesota. They began married life together on a farm and continued to farm their entire lives. In those early years, Grandma Marie was an invaluable help, with her gardening skills, as well as cooking and childcare, and a more than willingness to help. Lou’s parents were hard workers, and that upbringing taught Lou to be the ambitious man that he was and instilled in him a love for the farm life.
At age 20, Lou joined the Army and spent his enlistment in France. He was trained as a vehicle mechanic and also a pipeline installer.
After his service, Lou came out West to begin his life as a maintenance man on heavy construction equipment.
On March 7, 1957, he married an Idaho girl, Carol Bledsoe, and they enjoyed 62 years of precious partnership and were loving parents to Mary, Lila and Ed.
While raising his young family, Lou’s chosen occupation was working as a mechanic on road construction, mostly during the building of Interstate-5 and Interstate-84. The job required the family to move from one place to another frequently, and they had many wonderful experiences living that nomadic lifestyle. The family ended up in Vancouver, WA in the early 1970s where Lou worked for paving companies in the Portland metropolitan area. He was a member of Local 701. The work was hard and the days were long, but he happily provided for his family.
Lou retired on December 31, 1997 and immediately came to Nu Acres (near Parma, ID) to help his son Ed, who had recently purchased a dairy farm. Life on the farm was good and fulfilled his lifelong desire to be a farmer again.
Music was a very important part of Lou’s life. He had a beautiful voice and learned how to play both the guitar and accordion at a young age. He enjoyed playing and singing country songs with friends, and especially enjoyed accompanying and harmonizing with his children and family members. One of his great joys was helping build stringed instruments with his son. He had a can-do attitude that served him well during his lifetime.
Besides his music, Lou loved his books, long drives in the country, gardening and preserving food. And anything he built was sturdy and made to outlast us all.
In his later years, when he had more time after retirement, he loved spending time with his great-grandchildren, Gracie and Josslyn.
Lou was preceded in death by his parents, Ed and Martha; brothers, Ramie and Bob; Ramie’s wife, Shirley; and brother-in-law, John Halbersma.
Lou is survived by his wife, Carol; and his three children: daughters, Mary Carnes and Lila Van de Voorde (Mike Gattuccio) and son, Ed; his grandson, Scott Carnes (Casie); great-granddaughters, Gracelyn and Josslyn; his brother Ramie’s children, Mike, Laura and Donnie; sister, Lorraine Halbersma and her children, Douglas, Connie, David and Duane; sister-in-law, Joanie Vande Voorde; sister, Rosemarie Schlenker (Carl); and nephews, Brian, Allen and Gary.
Lou was a great guy, a hard worker and a wonderful family man. His kids think he was the best dad ever! He will be greatly missed.
Bowman Funeral Home in Garden City is in charge of arrangements. There will be no public service at this time.
Please sign his guest book @ www.columbian.com/obits
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
1 Entry
Lou was such a wonderful brother. I miss him greatly. He was always so happy, kind, funny, and most of all loving. Rest in peace dear brother.
Rose Schlenker
August 20, 2019
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