Herman Joseph VenHorst died at Clarissa Cook Hospice House on Thursday, January 13, 2022. Visitation will be held on from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 16, 2022 at Weerts Funeral Home. A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, January 17, 2022 at St. John Vianney Church, Bettendorf. Burial will follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery.
Herman was born December 31, 1925, on the family farm in Pleasant Valley, the youngest of eight children of John and Helen (Venes) VenHorst. Herman attended Forest Grove School in the Pleasant Valley area, Sudlow Intermediate and Davenport High School (now Central High) graduating in 1943. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II in the Pacific Theater, participating in the battle of Okinawa. After the war ended, he served a year in China in the repatriation of Japanese soldiers.
He married Harriet Klindt on September 22, 1951. She passed away in April 1994. He married Sally Hull on July 6, 1997.
Herman joined his brothers, Jim and Ralph, in the service station business when he returned from the war in 1946. In 1953, the three brothers built and operated the former Trio Roller Rink in Bettendorf, on the site of the Duck Creek Plaza. Herman and Ralph later built and operated a Standard Oil service station in Pleasant Valley from 1966 to 1981. After retiring from the service station business, Herman worked part-time at Hidden Hills Golf course for many years, repairing and servicing golf carts and equipment.
Herman was a member of St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Bettendorf, QC Times Plus 60 Club, Catfish Jazz Society and former member of the Davenport Moose club and Scott County Farm Bureau. He enjoyed dancing, walking, biking, traveling and listening to big band music of the 40s and 50s.
Survivors include his wife, Sally; daughters Janet Howard, Davenport and Barbara VenHorst (Davenport), and son David (Barbara) VenHorst, St. Charles Illinois; grandchildren Brian Howard, Kate (Wil) Henry, Alex (Cori) VenHorst and Jack VenHorst; stepdaughter Barbara (Brian)Nagle, Davenport, stepsons Tom (Stephanie) Hull, Navarre, Florida, and Scott Hull, Lake Placid, Florida; step-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Herman was preceded in death by his first wife, Harriet; his parents; sisters Sr. St. John VenHorst, CHM and Sr. Marie VenHorst CHM; his brothers John, Walter, Harry, James, and Ralph VenHorst; and son-in-law James Howard. May they rest in peace.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Clarissa Cook Hospice House. Online condolences may be expressed at www.weertsfh.com
