The Rev. Henry B. Poppen

Orange City

The Rev. Henry Poppen, age 91, of Orange City, Iowa, passed into the arms of his Savior and Lord on Saturday, May 7, 2011, at the Happy Siesta Health Care Center in Remsen, Iowa.

There will be a funeral service on Wednesday, May 11, at 3 p.m., at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. David Ter Beest will officiate. There will be a graveside service on Thursday, May 12, at 1:30 p.m., at the Graceland Cemetery in Pella, Iowa. Visitation will be after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Henry Benjamin was born on May 22, 1919, in George, Iowa, the older son of the Rev. Otto G. and Charlotte (Buss) Poppen. At age 5, he moved with his parents to Belmond, Iowa, where his father served the Immanuel Reformed Church. He attended a rural country school in Wright County, Iowa, and the Pleasant Prairie Academy in German Valley, Illinois. He graduated from Central College in Pella in 1941 and Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, in 1944. He was ordained a Minister in his home church of Immanuel Reformed on May 26, 1944. On June 23, 1944, he married Cornelia Ann Ter Louw in Steen, Minnesota.

The Poppens served churches together at Washington Reformed, Ackley, Iowa; Alto Reformed, Waupun, Wisconsin; Mount Greenwood Reformed, Chicago, Illinois; First Reformed, Rock Valley, Iowa; First Reformed; Denver, Colorado; First Reformed, Sibley, Iowa; First Reformed; Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; and Bethany Reformed, Clara City, Minnesota. Upon semi-retiring in 1984, they served interim ministries in Palm Springs, Florida; Willmar, Minnesota; Comanche, Lawton, Oklahoma; and First Reformed, Orange City. In 1992, they moved to Pella, where they served in the calling ministry at Trinity Reformed. In 2004, they returned to Orange City, to reside at the Landsmeer Ridge Retirement Community. On August 23, 2010, his precious wife went to be with the Lord, after 66 years of marriage. In the fall of 2010, he became a resident of Happy Siesta, where he lived his last days visiting with family and friends.

The Rev. Poppen served on many local and denominational boards and committees of the Reformed Church in America. He was president of the Synod of the West (now Heartland Synod) and served on the boards of trustees of Central College, Northwestern College in Orange City, Words of Hope in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Hope Haven in Rock Valley. He was a member of the Church Herald Editorial Council, General Synod Executive Committee, General Program Council, and North American Mission Board, and he was the organizational committee chairman for Camp Manitoqua, Frankfort, Illinois.

Along with his family, he experienced great pleasure in traveling throughout the United States, as well as Europe and the Holy Land (Israel). He immensely enjoyed sharing stories and visiting with family and friends. He counted it pure joy to serve as "pastor" in the homes of members of his congregations.

He leaves to cherish his memory, four children and their spouses, eight grandsons, and two great-granddaughters. They include Charlotte Ann and Dr. Robert Foreman, of Edmund, Oklahoma, and their sons, Matthew and Nathan; Dr. Paul John Poppen, of Washington, D. C., and his son, Joseph, and his wife, Jenny; Linda Jean and Richard Ziegler, of Greeley, Colorado, and their sons, Jonathan, Benjamin, and Josiah, and his wife, Jen, and their daughter, Abigail; and Timothy Alan and Debra Poppen, of Sioux City, Iowa, and their sons, Zachary, and his wife, Larissa, and their daughter, Zoe, and Daniel.

In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by his only brother, the Rev. George C. Poppen, and his only sister, Anna M. Bosch.

Henry Poppen fulfilled God's call to a life of service, with dedication and love for his Lord and Savior and in His glory, his earthly family.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be designated for Audio Scriptures International, the Annette Ter Louw Scholarship Fund at Western Seminary, or Hope Haven.

You may express your sympathy at www.oolman.com.

Published in Des Moines Register on May 11, 2011