Delmar Van Zee

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Delmar John Dean Van Zee, 86, of Miller, passed away Thursday, November 18, 2021, at Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital in Miller.

Funeral service will be 10:30 a.m., Saturday, November 27, 2021, at the First United Methodist Church, Miller with Pastor Teresa Whetsel officiating. Burial will be at G.A.R. Cemetery, Miller.  A visitation will begin at 5:00 p.m., Friday, November 26, 2021, followed by a prayer service at 7:00 p.m. all at the church. 

Delmar John Dean Van Zee was born January 9, 1935, on his family farm in Alden Township to Garritt and Anna (Vlasek) Van Zee. He was the youngest of six Van Zee boys: Elvin, Desmond, Eugene, Renus, and Stephen.  Del also had older twin sisters, “baby” and Evelyn, and a younger brother, Dwayne, who each passed as infants. 

He attended his first eight grades of school at the Van Zee School, just northwest of the family farm, before attending high school in Miller. His sophomore year was cut short due to the blizzard of 1951-‘52 that kept the family snowed in for several months. Del and his older brother, Steve, stayed out of school to help on the farm. Del never returned to finish high school.  

Del met Virginia “Ginger” Bezner at a Valentine’s Day dance at the Miller Auditorium (later Midwest Supply) and they were married February 12, 1956, in the Methodist Church in Highmore. They worked side by side for over 65 years and Del often said, “The best thing that ever happened to me was when I met Ginger”. They were blessed with four children:  Garry, Lizabeth, Timothy, and Julie.

Del may have served in the military however he was denied by the draft board due to the proposed “Sullivan Rule”, which intended to prevent too many family members from serving in the military, at one time. Four of his brothers were already serving. Therefore, Del continued to work on the farm, as well as his brother Des’s farm on Highway 26. When brother Steve returned from the Service, they formed a partnership, Van Zee Brothers. The Van Zee Brothers farmed and ranched for over 47 years, twenty miles northwest of Miller. 

In the early years, they ran swine, sheep, cattle, poultry, turkeys, and a few horses. Later, they implemented artificial insemination and calved out over 200 head of Chianina and Limousin cattle. They farmed wheat, corn, and sunflowers, and in the earlier years they also grew oats, field and grain sorghum, and some flax. Del and Steve did everything they could to earn a decent living. They butchered their own beef and deer, sold eggs and cream, and cleaned hundreds of chickens. Del was a Triple F Feeds distributor (minerals and supplements), while Steve represented Cargill Seeds. They custom silage cut when needed, and traded harvest hours with the local neighbors. Together, they sold and serviced Arts Way blender boxes and grinder mixers to loyal customers all across the state. 

Del was passionate about weed control and continued to serve on the various township, county, and state weed boards for over 50 years. He spent countless hours on his modified 4-wheeler spraying weeds around the farm and after he retired, he took pride in mowing and keeping up the family homestead.  

Unfortunately, Del lost two homes to fire over the years.  When he was 6 years old, he lost his family house to fire after a spark landed in the cob bucket. Then again in 2005, a short in the box of a light switch caused an electrical fire in their country home. Instead of rebuilding, Del and Ginger decided to move into town where Del general contracted and built their own garage, loft, and living quarters on the property where he and Ginger live. Together, they owned and operated “The Guest House” where they have hosted many family events and rented to hunters and other guests from all across the globe.  It was never about the money, Del loved to visit and shared stories with all who stayed.

Del also loved to read newspapers and magazines, as he was always looking for a special, and he used to say, “How do I keep my mind if I don’t know what is going on?”. For decades, Del had his alarm set to 4:58 a.m. to wake up to and hear the inspirational message of “MY DAY” on 570 WNAX Radio (which is in the program). 

Del and Ginger enjoyed traveling together with and without their family. A few places they visited included Del’s family roots in Holland and Czech Republic and Ginger’s family roots in England. They also visited Switzerland, Austria, Rome and Venice in Italy, the Holy Land of Jerusalem, Paris, Machu Picchu in Peru, Panama Canal, Hawaii, and Alaska.  Del enjoyed cruising with all his family on the biggest ship in the world at the time (Oasis of the Seas) and another through the inner passage of Alaska. And of course, trips all across the United States.  He was especially close with his family as they made extra effort to host and attend family gathering for the holidays and throughout the year.

He is survived by his wife, Virginia “Ginger” Van Zee; brother, Renus; brother, Steve; sister-in-law, Judy; son, Garry (Erma) Van Zee of Highmore, SD, and their children: Gavin (Samantha and children Landon and Kyndal), and Tiffany (children Kaiser and Phelps); daughter, Lizabeth (Don) Van Zee Ketts of Denver, CO, and their daughter, Samantha (Sunny) Salh; son, Timothy (Susan) Van Zee of Lone Tree, CO, and their children: Alyssa, Emily and Jackson; and daughter, Julie’s (Lonny) children: Afton and Rhys Phelps.

Del was preceded in death by his parents: Garritt Van Zee (1957) and Anna Van Zee (1978); daughter, Julie Phelps (2017); brother, Elvin (2006) and sister-in-law, Dory; brother, Des (1997) and sister-in-law, Pat; brother, Gene (1982); sister-in-law, Patty (Renus); and three infant siblings: (1924, 1924, and 1936, respectively).

Even though he didn’t graduate from high school, the Class of 1953 always included him and Ginger in all their reunions, which always meant so much to him. Del was an active member of the rural Greenleaf Church until it closed in 2012, at which time he transferred to the First United Methodist Church in Miller where he always believed in life everlasting.  He passed of pneumonia at Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital at age 86.

Our blessed Husband, Dad, Grandpa and Great Grandpa will be sorely missed. As he would eloquently say each time we parted “See ya when I see ya…don’t know when or where”.

Reck Funeral Home of Miller has been entrusted with Del's arrangements.