Alan Keith Van Der Kamp

Alan Keith Van Der Kamp, 78, of Prairie City, passed away Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, at The Cottages in Pella. A funeral service will begin at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5 at the First Reformed Church in Prairie City. Visitation will befrom 1 to 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4 at the First Reformed Church in Prairie City and the family will be present from 5 to 7 p.m. Burial will be in Waveland Cemetery with a military service. Memorials may be directed to First Reformed Church, Wesley Life Hospice or a bench for the new bike trail. Condolences may be left for the family at coburnfuneralhomes.com.

The son of Donald and Freda (Van Zee) Van Der Kamp, Alan was born Nov. 14, 1942, in Oskaloosa. He grew up in the Sully area. The family moved to a farm near Prairie City where Alan graduated from Prairie City High School in 1961. After graduation, he worked at Caldwell’s Grain Elevator and helped on the family farm.

On March 29, 1963, he was united in marriage to Lorena Van Peursem at the First Reformed Church in Prairie City. After four years of marriage, Alan was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., and Vietnam. When Alan returned from Vietnam, they built a home in Prairie City. He then worked for several freight companies in Des Moines as a pickup and delivery/city driver. Alan also served as a driver mentor for new Yellow employees. He retired from Yellow Freight Company Oct. 31, 2003.

In December of 1974, their 11-month-old son Mark arrived from Vietnam after a long-anticipated wait. God completed this little family of three with the perfect match!

Alan was a member of the First Reformed Church, where he served many years as a deacon and elder, Sunday school superintendent and took care of the grounds. He was also a member of the Prairie City Lions Club and participated in the Iowa Motor Truck Association competition several times.

In 1985, Alan took up bicycling and rode many trails in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois, Colorado and Canada. He also rode all or part of 22 RAGBRAIs. In 2008, he passed the 100,000-mile mark on his bike!

Those left to honor his memory include his wife, Lorena; son, Mark; and one grandchild, Blake; who is his pride and joy; one sister, Joyce; four brothers, Jerry, Carl, Caryl and Duane.

Preceding him in death were his parents, Don and Freda; and his parents-in-law, Lester and Dena; and a sister, Donna.