Vandella A. Bockelman

VanDella (Van) was born on May 23, 1924 to Christopher Martin and Hulda Luedders in Ludell, Kansas. She attended a Lutheran elementary school in Ludell, St. John’s College in Winfield, Kansas, and Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. She began her parish ministry service at Trinity Lutheran Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, working with Pastor Julius Fritze. When the leadership at Trinity Lutheran decided to add a Christian grade school, Van’s responsibilities grew to include parish assistant and kindergarten and first grade teacher. When Pastor Fritze accepted a call to serve at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Higginsville, Missouri, he requested that Van come and serve as his parish assistant there.

In Higginsville, Van married Louis E. Bockelman, a veteran from the U.S. Navy. There they had three children, with Van joyfully serving as wife and mother. The family moved to Kansas City around 1958. Van served as secretary for Messiah Lutheran School during many of the years that her children attended there. She volunteered in many service organizations in the church throughout her life.

Van served as a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother for her remaining years. She is preceded in death by her parents and her sister Irene Holste. She is survived by sister Bea Daugherty and brothers LeRoy and Larry Luedders, her husband Louis of 67 years, her children Vicki Maynard, Angela Zuehsow, and Conni Burks, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. We will all dearly miss her, but we rejoice that she is now in heaven with Jesus.

A service of thanksgiving for the life of VanDella Bockelman will be held at Park Lawn Funeral Home in Kansas City on Saturday, September 15th, with visitation at 12:30 p.m. and service at 1:30 p.m., followed by interment.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be given to samaritanspurse.org or the foreign missionary fund at Pebble Creek Assembly of God Church, Kansas City, Missouri.

Service: 1:30PM, Saturday, September 15, 2018 at Park Lawn Funeral Home

Visitation: 12:30PM, Saturday, September 15, 2018 at Park Lawn Funeral Home

Burial in Green Lawn Cemetery