Lorraine Heronimus

Lorraine (Meyer) Heronimus, a generous Christian woman with a great love for children, died Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at North Shore Health Care Facility in Loveland, Colorado. She was 89 years old. A visitation is planned from 4:00 â?? 7:00 p.m. Thursday and 10:00 a.m. Friday at Resthaven Funeral Home. A Funeral Service will be held 11:00 a.m. Friday at Resthaven Funeral Home. She will be interred at Resthaven Memory Gardens in Fort Collins, Colorado. Memorial contributions can be made to Pathways Hospice in care of Resthaven Funeral Home, 8426 S. Hwy 287, Fort Collins, CO 80525.Born on a farm in north central Iowa, the 14th of 15 children, Lorraine attended school in Holland and Grundy Center, Iowa. She began her 30 years of teaching at a country school in 1939 at age 18. There she loaded and lit the wood-burning furnace each morning prior to teaching grades one through eight. District policy did not allow married women to teach so she left the school after one year to marry her longtime sweetheart, Calvin Heronimus. She and Cal were both teachers and spent their early years in a number of northwest Iowa Christian schools. During the summer months they attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They had three daughters and finally settled for good in Grand Rapids in 1957. Lorraine was able to complete her Bachelor of Arts degree at Calvin College in 1965. She continued to teach at Dutton Christian School (1958-1964), West Side Christian School (1964-1969), and Grandville Public (1969-1972). She and Cal moved to Loveland, Colorado, in 1972 where Lorraine taught at Namaqua Elementary School until she retired in 1984. Lorraine will be remembered for her ability to tell good stories, plan picnics, entertain friends, and for her remarkable gift of teaching. A self-taught pianist, she served her Lord through her music, volunteering at nursing homes, Sunday and Vacation Bible Schools, and community rescue missions. She was a longtime member of Immanuel Christian Reformed Church.She will be missed by her sisters, Elaine Mohlis of Boise, Idaho, and Lavine Weichers of Loveland, Colorado; her sister-in-law Helen Meyer of Holland, Iowa; her daughters Jacquelyn Heronimus of Loveland, Nancy (and David) VerMerris of Fruitport, Michigan, and Rebecca (and David) Osborne of Loveland; three grandchildren (David and Lyssa Rau, and Lucas Sorenson); many nieces, nephews and other extended family members; faith community and friends; and by hundreds of former students. Preceding her in death were 12 brothers and sisters; a grandson, Cody Sorenson who died July 23, 2010; and her beloved husband of 61 years, Calvin, who died in 2000.