Willem Jurrie Vanderstraaten

Willem Jurrie (Bill) Vanderstraaten passed away peacefully into the arms of his Lord at his home in Richardson, Texas, on August 1st while surrounded by his loving family. Bill was born on July 13th, 1929 in The Hague, Netherlands. He grew up in Holland during the Nazi occupation of WWII. Bill later joined the Dutch Army and was stationed in Aruba. He immigrated to the United States in 1954 where he joined the United States Army. He was stationed in Ft. Riley, Kansas and Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas. After completing his service, Bill moved to California where he met and married the love of his life, Jane McElhaney Vanderstraaten, his wife of 52 years. Bill and Jane moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then relocated to Dallas, Texas, when he joined Texas Instruments, Inc. He had a long and successful career in computer engineering and systems management sciences with Texas Instruments, Varo Semiconductor and Otis Engineering. Although his education was interrupted by his military service, he later earned a Master of Science in International Business from the University of Dallas. Bill enjoyed traveling cross-country with his wife Jane and her sister and brother-in-law, Pat and Joe Henderson, of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was a member of the American Legion and the Holland-America Club.

Bill blessed the lives of everyone who knew him with his kind heart and his spontaneous sense of humor. He had a keen appreciation for art, music and nature. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather, and he will be dearly missed. His parents precede him in death. Bill is survived by his wife Jane, daughter Karen Vanderstraaten Horton and her children Drew, Amy and Caroline, son Bill Vanderstraaten and his wife Mimi, and their children Emily and Will. His sister, Loes Ris, and niece Simone van der Veeken, of The Hague, as well as other family members in the Netherlands, also survive him.

The family is deeply grateful for the loving care shown to Bill by the VNA. Visitation will be held on Wednesday August 4th from 6-8 pm. at the Ted Dickey West Funeral home. A funeral service celebrating Bill’s life will be held at First United Methodist Church in Richardson, Texas on Thursday, August 5th at 10 a.m., followed by a reception at the church. Graveside services will be held at the D/FW National Cemetery at 1:30 pm. following the service.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Bill’s name to the American Parkinson’s Disease Association,

P.O. Box 670278, Dallas, Tx. 75367-0278 or www.apdaparkinson.org ; or to the First United Methodist Church of Richardson, 503 N. Central Expressway, Richardson, Tx. 75080 or www.fumcr.com.