01/11/1992
Mabel Marie (Branderhorst) VanderMolen was the daughter of William Maurice and Mildred Margaret Harvey Branderhorst.
She was born on December 10, 1928, in Newton, Iowa and had a brother, Wilbur Maurice, who was born on September 13, 1933, and lived only a few hours.
Mabel’s parents managed the Alloway Dairy Farm near Newton for ten years, at which time she began her elementary education in a one-room schoolhouse. They bought a farm in rural Knoxville, Iowa where she continued her education.
Mabel completed her high school education at Pella Christian High School in Pella, Iowa.
On December 10, 1948, she and Louis M. Van Der Molen were united in marriage at the First Christian Reformed Church in Pella.
“Lup”, as he was most often called, was living in Peoria, Iowa at the time and following their marriage Mabel and Lup continued living there. They then moved to Oskaloosa, Iowa and during the first eight years of their marriage three sons were born: Roger William, Richard Wayne and Robert Lee.
Lup was employed in a brickyard and then the tire business with his brother, William Vander Molen, while the family lived in the Lacey and New Sharon, Iowa communities.
In 1956, the family had moved to Pella where Mabel and Lup lived the remainder of their married life. Lup’s last employment was with the Rolscreen Company and he will be remembered for his Nutrilite Sales, while Mabel will be remembered for styling and selling wigs.
On January 11, 1992, at the age of 64 years, Lup succumbed to his cancer condition while being cared for at the Pella Community Hospital.
The interest and affection Mabel and he displayed for their family continued to be evident until the end of her life as well. She continued to live at 216 University Street in Pella with the help of her son, Roger, and his wife, Jean, until she became a patient at the Hospice of Pella Comfort House on May 6, 2011.
Mabel was witness to the untimely death of her two youngest sons, Rick on August 28, 1997 at the age of just 44 years, and Bob on January 11, 2001, at the age of 45 years. These deaths, along with the death of her husband, Lup, her parents, William and Mildred Branderhorst, and her parents-in-law, Martin and Tillie Ozinga Van Der Molen, instilled in her special meaning and importance for Memorial Day.
One would be inclined to say that it was appropriate that Mabel should pass away on Memorial Day, May 29, 2011, at the age of 82 years.
Mabel loved her kids and grandkids. They are:
Roger and C. Jean (Lovell) Van Der Molen of Pella, IA
Jason Van Der Molen and Michelle De Geest of Honolulu, HI
John, Jenna De Geest
Sonja and Juan Munoz of Pella, IA
Alicia, Michael Munoz
Jennifer “Jenny” and Brian Jackson of Ankeny, IA
Hannah, Emma, Noah Jackson
William “Willie” and Lisa Van Der Molen of Altoona, IA
Evan, Sadie, Ellie (Elisabeth) Van Der Molen
Regina “Gina” and Peter Hemmings of Clear Lake, IA
Jesse and Jessica Van Der Molen of Dallas, TX
(Richard Van Der Molen) Susan Johns of Keokuk, IA
Larissa and Danny Van Donselaar of Knoxville, IA
Isabella, Ava Van Donselaar
Leslie Van Der Molen of Des Moines, IA
Lane Richard and Christy Van Der Molen of Des Moines, IA
(Robert Van Der Molen)
Cathy Van Der Molen
Robert “Robbie” and Deb Van Der Molen
Alyssa, Baylee Van Der Molen
Cody and Nicole Van Der Molen
Cooper, Olivia Van Der Molen
Heather Nichols
Louis Van Der Molen
Autumn Van Der Molen
Mabel leaves four sisters-in-law and a brother-in-law: Rachel (Vander Molen) and Cornie Vander Hart, Martena (Vander Molen) De Groot, and Sylvia (Cecil Vander Molen) Langstraat all of Pella and Nellie (Jacob) Vander Molen presently of Oskaloosa, Iowa; along with several nieces and nephews.
Mabel was preceded in death by her husband, Lup, her two sons, Rick Van Der Molen and Bob Van Der Molen, her parents, her parents-in-law, her infant brother, 
and the following sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law: Margaret (Vander Molen) and Cornelius Boerefyn, Jacob Vander Molen, Ben and Christine Vander Molen, William and Leona Vander Molen, Cecil Vander Molen, Anna (Vander Molen) and Ralph Corbin, Ray De Groot and Tony Langstraat. Mabel was a member of the Berean Baptist Church in Pella at the time of her death.