Conrad Devries, 100 on January 6

A history, by his granddaughter, Angela Tenbrock

A little baby boy
On January the sixth of 1908
They were filled with joy

They named their son Conrad
And gave thanks to God above
For this their sixth child
Who He'd given them to love

He grew up on farms near Pella
And attended the Pella Christian School
They were much different back then
For in the corner there sat a dunce stool

He tells of a story from his school days
And many times it's been said
He ran his horse home from school
And upon arriving it dropped over dead

He graduated from the 8th grade
And was a hired hand on the farm
Until his early twenties
He met Anna Andringa to charm

After Catechism one evening
He offered her a ride
He brought her home by horse and buggy
And she sat by his side

The wedding was February 2 of 1930
They married at a church service that day
The roads were muddy getting there
For he got stuck in a ditch on the way

They lived through the great depression
And at times things looked grim
But they put their trust in the Lord
And He always provided for them

A son Vernon (1932) and daughter Beulah (1934)
Are the children with whom they were blessed
They vowed to raise them in the church
And with God's help they did their best

His love for children was so great
He'd say "It's not that we didn't try"
But for grandchildren they would have to wait
As the years flew on by

They farmed in the area for 22 years
And in 1952 they made a fresh start
They bought a little place in town
But he was always a farmer at heart

His very first job in town
Was at the Wormhoudt's furniture shop
For them he laid floors and the such
But decided he'd rather push a mop

From there he did some maintenance
And janitorial too
At the Pella Hospital and Lincoln School
Just to name a few

He also cleaned the Central College dorms
After the students moved out
They left behind many items
You'd hate to be without

The Pella Strawtown Inn
Was the last place he was hired
He did maintenance for Bob Kleyn there
Until the eighties when he retired

As Conrad turns one hundred
The grandkids look back over many a year
Of all the fond childhood memories
Spent with Gramp so dear.

To the farm on Saturdays they'd come
Where a quiet moment couldn't be found
He'd try to get something useful done
As the grandkids followed him around

He'd often take them fishing
With the worms they'd help him dig
He taught them to wait patiently
To catch one that was big

In the summer they'd go to the Skunk River
To wade the grandkids say
And in the winter they'd go hunting
Rabbits and squirrel on the Holiday

When the last grandchild was born
More memories were made
Some got to spend time with them
As in their home they stayed

They remember riding their first escalator
When seeing the baby in Des Moines
And going to A&W for ice cream
Which back then wa just one coin

Some watched him upholster furniture
And every once in a while
He'd send the kids up with a dutch message for Gram
That surely made them smile

To this day they don't know what was said
And are still left to wonder
But it really makes them laugh
As these memories they ponder

In 1990 from their home on Hazel
They moved to Prairie Village down the Hill
Where they were given seven more good years together
Before Anna became quite ill

In 1997
She was confined to bed
He patiently took care of her
As through the valley she was led

With 70 years of married life
They were greatly blessed
In February of 2000
God took her to her heavenly place of rest

For the next seven years he lived on his own
And his daughter did hlep give him care
Now he lives t the Pella Nursing home
Where his patience and wisdom he can share

One thing that astounds us all
Is the number of children he's now been given
From only the two children they had themselves
Sixteen grandchildren were given

From those sixteen grandchildren
He then had sixty great
And if you add the twenty great-great
The total is ninety-eight

He blesses those around him
With psalms of praise to God most high
His work here below is not yet done
He often wonders why

But he patiently waits on the Lord
For his heavenly home to see
As he looks forward to the day
When he can serve Him perfectly.