Barbara Van Heukelem

Barbara Pranger was born May 8, 1914 in Platte, South Dakota.  Her parents were Cornelius and Teeke (Zylstra) Pranger.  Barbara was the sixth child of nine.  Her siblings were: Grace, Gertrude, Ray, Richard, Bertha, Anna, Gerald and Raphael.

Barbara was a farm girl from South Dakota.  All the Pranger farm work was done using horse drawn machinery.  Barbara lived through difficult times for farmers and saw grasshopper infestations, drought and extremely harsh winters.  When the economic devastation of the Depression came, Barbara and her sisters Bertha and Ann moved to Denver.  They got work cleaning houses and sent part of their earnings back home to assist the family in Platte.

While in Denver, Barbara's world changed as she met a tall, dark, and handsome man at church named Hillard Van Heukelem. They married September 8, 1939 at Barbara's home in Platte, South Dakota.  They returned back to Denver and bought their first home at 2137 So. Humboldt St. in Denver.

In 1940, Hillard and Barbara were blessed with a healthy son with dark hair that they named Norman Dale.  Three years later a blond daughter named Barbara Ann joined the family.  While Hillard was serving our country in World War II, Barbara served as well by raising  their two children in the absence of their father.  She tought them to love the Lord and understand the need for their Dad to fight for their country.  In 1946 Hillard returned home from the war and the family was reunited.

In 1948 another daughter, Cheryl Sue joined the family.  The family unit was complete with the birth of Randall Dean in 1954.  Hillard established his own painting business and Barbara raised children and served in her church.

Barbara was a member of Second Christian Reformed Church since 1939.  She sang in the choir, attended Bible Studies, and faithfully attended church services until her health failed.  She loved playing the piano and singing hymns and always remembered singing in the choir at the Billy Graham Crusades.

Barbara was the Mother of four, Grandmother of 12, and Great Grandmother of 24.  She was preceded in death by her daughter Cheryl, all of her siblings and her husband Hillard.