Albert William VanOostrom, 85, of Nederland, passed away Saturday, April 24, 2010, at Serenity House in Port Arthur after a lengthy and courageous battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
For our family and extended family, we have lost a husband, father, grandfather, and most importantly, a very good friend.
Funeral service will be Friday, April 30, at 10:30 a.m., at Broussard’s Mortuary in Nederland, Adam Pardue, minister, and Joe Mansfield, deacon, of First Baptist Church, Nederland, officiating. Interment with full military honors will follow in Oak Bluff Memorial Park in Port Neches. A gathering of friends and family will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 29, at Broussard’s.
Albert was born on February 10, 1925, the son of Dutch immigrants, John and Johanna Pleiter VanOostrom. He was a lifelong resident of Nederland, graduating from NHS in 1942. He was an All-District tackle and class favorite his senior year. A veteran of World War II, he was a member of the Army Air Corp, flight engineer and top turret gunner of a B-17, stationed in Foggia, Italy, with the 15th Air Force, 483rd Bombardment Group, 817th Bomb Squad. On the 36th mission, his plane went down outside the small village of Koniowka, Poland, and he became a Prisoner of War for the next 7 1/2 months. He participated in the Black March before being repatriated by American forces in April, 1944. After the war, he worked as a carpenter with his brother and father building houses before going to work for Pure Oil Refinery in Nederland. Pure Oil later became Union Oil, and he retired after 33 years of service as on operator in 1985. After retirement, Mr. VanOostrom enjoyed raising cattle, baling hay, tinkering with his tractors and farm machinery, and spending time with his family. He always enjoyed a good challenge, was an avid reader, and could fix anything.
Mr. VanOostrom is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, Genevieve VanOostrom of Nederland; daughters, Carolyn VanOostrom-Reed and her husband, William, of Alpharetta, Georgia; Shirley McGuire and her husband, Harold, of Nederland; and Mary Kay VanOostrom of Nederland; grandchildren, Kurt VanOostrom and his wife, Patty, of Vidor, Lauren Chapman of Houston, Matthew Garver and his wife, Mary, of Alpharetta, Georgia, and Dru Chapman and James Lewis of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Bert VanOostrom.
Pallbearers will be Kurt VanOostrom, Matthew Garver, Bill Reed, Harold McGuire, David Garver, and Greg Chapman. Honorary pallbearers will be Glen Bosman, Rayford Guzardo, Boyd Babineaux, Ronnie Ruysenaars, Nick Ruysenaars, and Bogdan Zeiba of Vienna, Austria.
Special thanks and gratitude to our wonderful caregivers over the years including, Geneva Johnson, Pearl Arnaud, Linda Ashford, Stephanie Joyas, Agnes Lou Richard, Mrs. Roslyn Vertel, the entire staff of Serenity House in Port Arthur, TX. and Odyssey Hospice.
Memorial contributions in honor of Albert can be made to the National Parkinson’s Foundation, www.Parkinson.org, or 800-327-4545
