Maria VanKlaveren Obituary (1929 – 2021) – Everett, WA

Maria Neeltje Van Klaveren, 91, of Marysville, Washington, walked peacefully to her Lord and Savior on Friday, June 11, 2021. She was born on October 30, 1929 in Hazerswoude, the Netherlands.

Maria (Mary) grew up in Hazerswoude and worked in her father’s nursery and took care of the gardens. In 1954 she married her husband Gerrit Van Klaveren. In 1958, they emigrated to Artesia, California with their two sons to enable their family to have a better life. In 1965 the family returned to the Netherlands to work in the family gardening business. Nine years later Gerrit and Mary emigrated again to the USA, this time to Modesto, California, where they founded an almond and vineyard. In 1979 they saw a better chance to start their own kindergarten with their family. Once again they uprooted the family and moved north to Lake Stevens, WA, where they settled and started Van Klaveren’s Nursery. In 1995 they became citizens and took their roots here forever.

Mary was a housewife and enthusiastic gardener. She was blessed with a giving heart. She happily donated money to dozens of charities. One of her talents was knitting. She was known for knitting hundreds of sweaters for children in need in third world countries. In her retirement, she knitted 2 sweaters a week. Her church, Cascade Christian Reformed, supported her with skeins of colored yarn, and various women picked up the finished sweaters and sent them to the organizations Mary was close to. She really embodied her God-given talents.

Mary leaves behind her son Jacob and Trudy (Corinna, Jessica, Gerrit), son Teunis and Kathryn (Steven, Kristen, Joseph), son Garry and Nan (Peter, Timothy), Marianne and Andre (Lauren) and nine great grandchildren. Her husband Gerrit and her granddaughter Meghan preceded her death.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 18, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at the Evergreen Funeral Home and Cemetery, Everett, WA. The tour will take place on Thursday, June 17th, from 4 to 7 p.m., also in the Evergreen Funeral Home. Commemorative donations can be made to World Vision International, Federal Way, or the Cascade Christian Reformed Church, Marysville.

October 29, 1929 – June 11, 2021

Published in The Herald (Everett) June 15 to June 16, 2021.