Person talk:George Lanting (1)

[28 July 2012]

Reverend George Lanting

Lammert and Minke (Boersma) Lanting were blessed with the birth of Rev. George Lanting at their home in Lansing, Illinois on July 28, 1922. Rev. Lanting attended Munster Christian School in Munster, Indiana. He spent his high school years at the regional Thornton Fractional Township High School. Rev. Lanting grew up during the Great Depression so his hobbies were inexpensive activities. He read, played sandlot softball and made model airplanes. For seven years he had a paper route.

When Rev. Lanting was nine years old, his family joined South Holland Protestant Reformed Church. In his early teens, the Lord gave him a deep appreciation and love for the Reformed faith. At this time he thought about the possibility of entering the ministry. When it became evident through the spoken Word and various articles in the periodicals that there was a need for ministers, Rev. Lanting felt the call of the Lord and decided to enter the seminary. Many of his friends and family approved and encouraged him in his pursuit of the ministry but there were some who seemed to be a bit skeptical. He did not attend college but he acquired two years of college credits before entering the seminary. On May 15, 1945, Rev Lanting married Wilmina Rutgers. The Lord gave them seven sons and three daughters. They also have thirty-two grandchildren.

The schism of 1953, overshadowed Rev. Lanting’s years in seminary. “For a time, two students from the Liberated Churches in the Netherlands and one from our churches, who had attended Kampen University, caused dissention between them and the professors as well as among the student body.”

Rev. Lanting was ordained in 1953, and began his labors in Grand Haven, Michigan. In 1959, the Lord called him to labor in Holland, Michigan. He was called to Edgerton, Minnesota in 1966. He labored there until the Lord called him to Loveland, Colorado in 1974. His last charge was in Pella, Iowa where he labored from 1981, until he retired in 1986, and became a minister emeritus.

Rev. Lanting still enjoys reading as one of his hobbies. He also enjoys tinkering around his yard and flowers and doing the necessary odds and ends required for the upkeep of his home. He and his wife still enjoy camping out in their trailer each summer. Because he grew up during the Great Depression, Rev. Lanting did not experience much peer pressure as a teenager. “Most teens accepted the equality that existed among them. There is little or no comparison to be made between then and now.”--henk 15:18, 28 July 2012 (EDT)

[29 July 2012]

  He is survived by his wife Wilmina of 58 years; ten children: Ruth Lanting, James (Jan) Lanting, Dyer, IN, David (Jan) Lanting, Grand Rapids, Mi, William (Jan) Lanting, Loveland, CO,  George (Monica) Lanting, South Holland, IL, Daniel Lanting, Loveland, CO, Jeanne (Tom) Venhuizen, Lansing, IL; Philip Lanting, south Holland, IL; Mary (Ed) Stouwie, Lansing, IL, and Steven (Ashley) Lanting, Kalamazoo, MI; thirty-three grand children; four grandchildren-in-law; three great-grandchildren; three sisters, Josie Koole, Grand Rapids, MI, Alice (Peter) Knott,Hudsonville, MI; Jeanette (John) DeVries, Hudsonville, MI; and sisters-in-law Rena Regnerus, Connie (George) Vroom, Joan Buiter all of Randolph, WI; Emma (Martin) DeVries, Grand Rapids, MI.

   Rev. G. Lanting passed away on Monday, October 18, 2004 at South Holland, Illinois.  Funeral service was held in the South Holland (IL) Protestant Reformed Church with its Pastor, Rev. Allen Brummel, conducting the service.--henk 07:32, 29 July 2012 (EDT)