David & Theresa Van Der Leest

David L. Van Der Leest, 78, of Belvidere, Illinois died on Monday Sept 26th 2022 followed soon after by his wife Theresa S. (Weber) Van Der Leest, 80, on Friday, October 7th 2022.

David was born on July 11th 1944 in Stratford Wisconsin to Leo and Marie (Seidl) Van Der Leest, child #2 of 10.  David grew up on the family farm but he always tried to get out of chores unless it involved driving the tractor. He graduated from Stratford High School Stratford, Wisconsin in 1962. He was in the United States Army for two years spending most of his time stationed in Germany, where he enjoyed the local beer as much as he could. He was honorably discharged in 1964.

Theresa was born December 6, 1941 in Rozellville, Wisconsin to Joe and Bertha (Nickolai) Weber, child # 12 of 14. The Webers were also a dairy farm family until they moved to town (Marshfield). She graduated from Columbus High School in 1961. Overcoming the limitations of polio, Theresa enjoyed Nanny care and spending time with friends and family.

Theresa and David met at Fahey’s dance hall in Rozellville and had many a fun night dancing and barhopping. They were married at St John’s Church, Marshfield Wisconsin on May 17th, 1969. It would last 53 years for better or for worse. In the early days, they briefly lived in Clinton, Wisconsin before purchasing their current home in Belvidere, Illinois, where they lovingly raised their daughter Dawn.

David worked at Chrysler Corporation in Belvidere, Illinois in the automotive assembly plant until his retirement in 1996. Theresa was a wonderful and dedicated homemaker and learned how to drive during that time. They enjoyed going on vacations everywhere in the United States throughout their marriage, including to California many times for strawberries where their daughter and son-in-law currently live.

David and Theresa were both active at St James Catholic Church in Belvidere. David enjoyed helping out as an usher and occasionally napping during a sermon (though he would deny it). He loved serving coffee and doughnuts after mass and taking the leftovers to the local senior high rise. David was a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus, and Theresa the Catholic Daughters where she volunteered for funeral luncheons and events. David was a member of the American Legion, and both were members of the Belvidere Moose Lodge. They also belonged to the KCIC and Illinois KC Kampers and enjoyed many camping trips with friends including Mark, Cheryl, Char, Rod and Karen and others too many to list, including a wonderful trip this year after his 60th high school reunion.

David was always fixing something from automotive to electrical. He was never afraid to “take a look at it” and see if he could fix it and learn how it worked. David and Theresa loved to bowl and were league members with friends for many years.  Neighbors like Sherry and Eric Schmidt, Mel and Becky Matherly and Ron and Cathy Taylor became family through the years and still are to this day. David was also an avid reader of books (including kindle books) mostly westerns and History, enjoyed watching NASCAR on TV and his iPhone and watching the Packers while living in Bear country. Theresa loved getting her hair, nail and toes done at the “wig shop” as David called it. Theresa made many lifetime friends there.

Their families were also extremely important to both of them. Even though they lived in Illinois, they stayed very close with family in Central Wisconsin. Until recently, they made it to family in WI for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, no matter the weather. Taking after his father, Leo, David loved woodworking. He took on making wooden mirrors for weddings in the family. After retirement David started designing and crafting wooden Christmas ornaments. He made them ahead of time as much as possible. He took great pride in giving them to every member of his family including nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews, hand delivering as many each year that he could.

The love that he had for his wife Theresa was great. In the recent years, he dedicated all of his time to her care, which is the greatest love you can show.

They are survived by their daughter Dawn and her husband Paul Venturacci who became a son to them both. They are further survived by David’s siblings, Leon (Bernice) Van Der Leest, Janice Ploog, Mary (Jerome) Stack, Joanne (Mike) Brusky, John (Jeanie) Van Der Leest, Norene (Steve) Laessig, Kevin (Coral) Van Der Leest and way too many nieces and nephews to list. Theresa is further survived by siblings Mary Ann Bauer, Helen Bartsch, Cele Sliwicky, Julie (Dick) Gebhardt, Jerome (Jeannie) Weber, and Rita Binder.

They were predeceased by their parents, David’s infant siblings Marlene and Gerald, Theresa’s infant siblings Dorothy and Bernadette and adult siblings Joe (Arlene) Louise, Marge John and Nick, several in-laws and many close friends of the family including Leroy, Don and Helen.

Visitation will be Sunday, October 16th 2022, from 3-5 at Belvidere Funeral Home. Funeral Mass lead by Father Geary will be at 11:00 at St James Catholic Church, Belvidere Illinois on Monday, October 17th 2022, with internment following at St. James Catholic Cemetery.

David and Theresa were a simple Christian couple who enjoyed their friends and loved their family. David was never a sharp dressed man and never pretended to be someone he wasn’t. He enjoyed wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans with a big belt buckle and that is how he will be laid to rest. Theresa loved her Alan Jackson country music, growing flowers in her garden and spending time with her girls. They will be greatly missed by those that knew them.