Obituary of Janet H DeVries

Janet H. DeVries was born on January 9, 1931 to John H. and Helen (Bulten) Nevenhoven in Austinville, Iowa. Her parents had both immigrated from the Netherlands as children, so she also spoke a bit of Dutch growing up—some of which she could still remember late in life. Janet was an only child, but didn’t grow up alone since her uncle Kobus Nevenhoven and his family lived on the same street in Austinville.

The Nevenhovens worked together as a family to ensure that there was always food on the table. Her mother Helen kept a garden that Janet helped with, including picking strawberries and doing the canning. They additionally raised chickens in the backyard, sometimes also turkeys and geese. She fondly remembered going fishing with her father at several nearby creeks. Her father John would also hunt duck, fox, raccoon, muskrat, and pheasant which Janet helped with. For example, when Janet was only 15, she drove her father around looking for pheasant to shoot.

Janet attended the local school in Austinville through the eighth grade, earning her eighth grade diploma from Butler County in May 1944. She could then choose between a few high schools, and decided to go to Aplington High School. Her favorite subject was home economics, where she especially enjoyed cooking and sewing. On Friday nights, she would go roller skating with her friends at the local rink. On May 13, 1948, Janet graduated from high school.

Looking forward to teaching, Janet attended Ellsworth College in Iowa Falls where she earned her limited edition teaching certificate that was valid for 3 years. “Miss Nevenhoven” then began teaching at a one-room school house about two miles from Highway 20 near German Township in Grundy County. In the meanwhile, she completed more courses to earn a further 3-year teaching certificate. Janet taught for a total of 5 years, starting with just 21 children, ages 5 to 13 ranging up to the 8th grade level.

After the state of Iowa closed all one-room school houses in favor of the public schools in town, Janet decided she would not continue teaching. Instead, she started to work for a produce company in Austinville as an egg handler. She worked in this job until her marriage.

On October 19, 1956, Janet married Louis B. DeVries in Ackley, Iowa. They then made a home and started a family in Dike, Iowa. Janet worked as a bookkeeper at a grain elevator there while Louis had his television repair business. When Louis started his job at Oliver Tractor, the family moved to Charles City, Iowa. It was there that they purchased two acres of land and built the family home where they would live until 1982.

Following Louis’s retirement from Oliver Tractor in 1982, the DeVries family moved to Linn Creek, Missouri where they had been vacationing in previous years. Louis and Janet managed and operated the Creel Resort together until their final retirement. Janet kept up the bookkeeping, checking guests in and out of their cabins, and managing the cleaning of all accommodations. She could often be found in the office or sitting outside in nice weather, chatting up the guests.

In her final years, Janet enjoyed planting and tending flowers all around the resort property. She was also an amateur birdwatcher, able to name any bird that landed on her bird feeders. Janet especially enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and dogs.

Janet DeVries died on October 30, 2023, at the age of 92 years and 9 months at her home in Linn Creek, Missouri. She was predeceased by her parents, John and Helen Nevenhoven; and her husband, Louis. She is survived by her four children, Eric, Todd, Beth, and Kara; four granddaughters, Melissa, Nicole Lynnae, Catherine, and Miranda; one great-grandson, Benjamin; cousins, and many friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, November 3, 2023 at Hedges-Scott-Millard Funeral Home in Camdenton, Missouri from 4:00pm to 6:00pm.