Rook, Ella Anna Louise (Stehr)

Ella Anna Louise (Stehr) Rook passed away Tuesday morning, July 28, 2009, at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, four months before her 100th birthday. Funeral services will be

10:30 a.m. today at the Heartland Reformed Church in Pella.

Ella Anna Louise Stehr was born in Hamburg, Germany, on Nov. 22, 1909. She was baptized in the family Lutheran Church in Schwerin, Germany. During this time many were immigrating to the United States for better opportunities and when Ella was 11 months old, her parents, Henry and Minna (Luckow) Stehr, and her brother, Kurt, came to America. They arrived in Norfolk, Neb., later moved to Chicago and finally settled on a farm near Grand Rapids, Mich. On April 27, 1929, she was united in marriage with Cornelius Rook, who was employed at a furniture factory in Grand Rapids and Ella was employed as floor manager at a department store in the same city. By the end of that summer they moved to Iowa on a farm that he owned near Indianola, where they lived until 1934. It was here their two sons were born, Herman Cornelius and Lawrence Harold. They eventually moved to a farm north of Pella, where their daughter, Shirley Ann, was born. They resided there until they retired and moved to Pella in 1956. Case passed away Dec. 31, 1981. Ella continued living in the same house for the next 21 years until moving to Vriendschaap Village Assisted Living in Pella, where she had many friends.

In March 2009, to be near her daughter, she became a wonderful addition to the Hiawatha Care Center in Hiawatha.

Surviving are two children and their spouses, seven grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren: Herman and Marcella (Goemaat) Rook of Pella and their four children: Carol (Rook) and Verlan Van Dyke, Laureen (Rook) and Marlin Van Wyk, Keith and Lynn Rook, Larry Rook; Shirley and Harlan Nieuwsma of Marion and their three children: Steven Nieuwsma and Peggy Prince and his three children: Benjamin and his son, Keegan, Alison, Katie and her son, Mason; Julie Ann (Nieuwsma) and Brian Waggoner and their five children: Samuel, Joseph, Joshua, John and Ella Christine; David and Elizabeth Nieuwsma and their three children: Jacob, Jennifer and Stephanie. Of her original family Ella leaves one sister, Lucille Finkbeiner of Middleville, Mich.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Cornelius Rook; her son, Lawrence; her parents, Henry and Minna Stehr; her brother, Kurt; a sister, Elizabeth; and two brothers, Walter and Harry.

One of Ella's last adventures was deciding to apply for United States citizenship. She began studying in her 30s but never took the test. On July 24, 1998, she became a citizen, one of the oldest that day, and felt so very proud and happy. Ella was the oldest member of Heartland Reformed Church in Pella.

A special thanks to staff at the Hiawatha Care Center, Dr. Mary Ann Nelson, and St. Luke's Hospital for their wonderful care and friendship.

Memorials may be made to the Heartland Reformed Church, Pella.