David Ter Beest ’50
Rev. David Ter Beest, age 94, of Orange City, passed away on Thursday, December 23, 2021, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.
There will be a memorial service on Monday, December 27, at 11:00 am, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. Mark Haverdink will officiate. Private family interment will be prior to the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. Arrangements are with the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.
David Clarence was born on July 18, 1927, in Brandon, Wisconsin, the son of Henry S. and Hattie (Veleke) Ter Beest. He grew up on his parents’ farm near Brandon and graduated from the Brandon High School in 1945 before enlisting in the United States Navy. Following his honorable discharge, he enrolled at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where he earned his bachelor’s degree.
On June 16, 1950, he was united in marriage to Elaine R. Beltman in Holland. The couple made their home in Holland, where Dave earned his Master of Divinity from Western Theological Seminary. Pastor Dave’s ministry began in Michigan as the founding pastor of the Standale Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, and the Westwood Reformed Church in Muskegon. In 1966, the couple moved their family to Iowa, where Dave was pastor at the First Reformed Church in Hull until 1980, when they accepted a call to the Faith Reformed Church in South Holland, Illinois. In July of 1992, Dave and Elaine retired and moved to Orange City, where Dave remained active in ministry at the First Reformed Church. Elaine passed away on April 21, 2009, in Orange City, after more than 58 years of marriage. In 2010, Dave became a resident of the Landsmeer Ridge Retirement Community, and later of the Prairie Ridge Care Center, both in Orange City.
Rev. Ter Beest was currently a member of the East Sioux Classis of the Reformed Church of America and had served on numerous boards and committees within the Reformed Church including as part of the executive Committee at Northwestern College in Orange City. He was also a member of the Pressman-Kosters American Legion Post in Orange City, and in earlier years participated in local Kiwanis Clubs. He and Elaine were blessed to be able to travel together during their retirement, and Dave liked to go hunting and fishing and enjoyed woodworking and photography.
Survivors include five children, James Ter Beest, and his wife, Rachel (Kraai), of Omaha, Nebraska; Mary Steinbeck, of Hartley; Anne Plageman, of Maurice; John Ter Beest, of Rapid City, South Dakota; and Ruth, and her husband, Rollie Vander Lee, of Rock Rapids; seven grandchildren, Sara Steinbeck, Laura (Ezra) Strubbe, Nathan (Belinda) Ter Beest, Gabe (Tiffany) Plageman, Emily (Danny) Rockhill, Tom (Kayla) Vander Lee, Sooner (Todd) Katz; 13 great-grandchildren; a brother, Dayton Ter Beest, of Brandon; two brothers-in-law and their wives, Frank and Judy Beltman, and Kenneth and Diana Beltman, all of Holland; a sister-in-law, Marian Beltman, of Grand Rapids, as well as several nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by two sons-in-law, Robert Plageman and John Steinbeck; two grandsons, Jason Steinbeck and Drew Steinbeck; and a brother-in-law, Henry Beltman.