Sietze (Stephen) Vander Hoff, age 88, passed to heaven on Thursday, March 4, 2021, at Hillsdale Hospital due to complications of COVID. His wife Aleida (Alie) Vander Hoff – Peters and his six children were at his bedside.
Sietze was born on July 28, 1932, in De Rips, The Netherlands. He was two, and the youngest of 5 children, when he lost his mother to medical complications. His father remarried and had 12 additional children to make a family of 17 siblings.
Growing up on a dairy farm fostered Sietze’s lifelong love of farming. He also had a heart of a wanderer and loved to learn and see new places. Surviving the war, Sietze traveled and worked in the United States in the 1950s. He decided, at that time, that the USA was the land that held his future. Sietze returned to The Netherlands and married his sweetheart, Aleida Peters, on April 21, 1960, and immigrated five days later. Sietze and Alie settled in the Holland/Zeeland area and lived there for 61 years raising six children.
In addition to farming, Sietze drove a semi-truck for Bil-Mar Foods for 17 years until his retirement at the age of 62.
Faith, family, friends, and farming were the cornerstones of his life. Sietze was devout in his faith and was a very involved parishioner of St. Francis de Sales and Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Parishes. In his retirement, Sietze continued to raise animals and annually planted a large vegetable garden. He took much pleasure in harvesting it with the help of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Sietze (Opa) will be greatly missed, and take comfort that he has found great peace in heaven.
Sietze is survived by his wife of 60 years, Aleida Vander Hoff -Peters, his six children, Mary (Dan) Busscher, Cecilia Conway, Paul (Teresa) Vander Hoff, John (Lee Ann) Vander Hoff, Leo (Anne) Vander Hoff, and Stephen (Rachel Tucker ) Vander Hoff, his seventeen grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 12, at Our Lady of The Lake Catholic Parish, 480 152nd Ave, Holland. A viewing will be held prior to mass starting at 9:30 a.m. at the church. Graveside service to follow immediately after mass. Donations in lieu of flowers can be directed to Sacred Heart Catholic School in Hudson, Michigan.
To sign an online guestbook or to leave a memory please visit, dykstrafuneralhome.com
Professional service entrusted to the Mulder Chapel.
