Eleanor Vogelzang

Eleanor W. Vogelzang, age 95, passed away peacefully in her sleep on October 21, 2014. She resided at the Porter Place Assisted Living Center in Denver and enjoyed relatively good health and cognition through the last years of her life. Eleanor was born in Sheldon, Iowa in 1919, the third of four children of George and Clara Hoogsteen. After graduating from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she married Julius Bergsma of Denver and Grand Rapids on March 6, 1942. Their marriage was blessed with five married children: Paul (Barbara DeRoos), Calvin (deceased July 7, 2001) (Gwen VanderVeer), Char (Peter DeJong), Jane (Steve Shelton), and Joel (Marybeth Herald). Eleanor has 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Julius died suddenly at age 44 in an airplane accident on April 20, 1960. Eleanor carried on parenting by herself. As a single parent in the 1960s, she felt challenged. Overcoming those fears, for example, she bravely visited Europe in 1963 with her five children (under age 21) packed in a Volkswagen minivan. Eleanor moved to Denver in 1969. At age 70, she married Nicholas Vogelzang in Denver on April 15, 1990. They shared nearly 16 years of marriage before Nic died on February 12, 2006. Eleanor's youngest sibling, Bernice Jean Reitsema of Denver, survives her. Her brothers Robert and Harold Hoogsteen passed away some years earlier. Eleanor loved to travel and spend time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Eleanor's friends and caregivers recount the joy she experienced when sharing stories of her family. An important part of Eleanor's legacy is the strong family bonds that they continue to enjoy. Eleanor was active in religious and charitable organizations throughout her life, including the Hillcrest Christian Reformed Church and the former Bethesda Hospital in Denver. Eleanor was a devout Christian. The family is grateful to Porter Place Assisted Living Center and its staff for providing a wonderful home and attentive care to her during the final years of her life. A celebration of life will be held Saturday, Oct. 25 at the Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 1091 S. Colorado Blvd., viewing at 3pm, service at 4pm, visitation will be Friday Oct. 24, 5-8 p.m.. Interment will take place in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Rest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be given to Calvin College, Calvin Theological Seminary, or the World Missions of the Christian Reformed Church in North America.