Chad Van Houten

Memorials, in lieu of flowers may be directed to the Shenandoah Athletic Department or the St. Patrick Catholic Church Centennial Fund. Chad Richard Van Houten was born March 19, 1968, in Clarinda, Iowa, the son of Brent Richard and Emily Mary (Dunbar) Van Houten. This family was completed in 1969 with the addition of his little sister, Angela Marie and the Van Houten family spent their early years in southwest Iowa, starting out in rural Imogene as tenant farmers for Mike Hunt. After graduating from Fremont Mills High School in 1987, Chad furthered his education by attending Northwest Missouri State College in Maryville where, according to his Mom, he excelled at partying. With college behind him after one semester, Chad joined the National Guard at the age of 19 and fulfilled his obligation to our country. A man of adventure, Chad farmed with his Dad in the Randolph/Tabor area, drove a truck with his Dad, and even went to truck driving school. He was quick to learn that the life of a trucker wasn't all it was cracked up to be and came back to SW Iowa where he worked at DNL in Red Oak, IA, and in 1995 began his career as a guard at the Clarinda Correctional Facility. His ...[more]

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kend job/hobby was working with livestock at the Red Oak Livestock Auction. Chad started giving thought to settling down and, although his search was thorough, he never found the perfect partner so transferred out of Clarinda to the Regional Correctional Facility in Council Bluffs, IA. As luck would have it, just a few months later he was introduced to Annie Campin who lived in Shenandoah. He fell in love with her and her two children, Thomas and Kaitlin, transferred back to Clarinda, and Chad and Annie were married on April 26, 2003, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Imogene, IA. In 2009, Chad and Annie became the owners of George Jay Drug & Hallmark Shoppe in Shenandoah where Chad was the handyman and CEO of sampling the ice cream and frozen yogurt at the soda fountain. Chad started coaching Shenandoah High School Girls Volleyball and Shenandoah Middle School Boys and Girls Basketball in 2007 and in 2011 he was named Head Volleyball Coach. He enjoyed every minute in the gym with his players and was proud of each and every one of them. He participated in all sports and was named MVP of the Imogene Blarney Bowl! He was a huge fan of the Kansas City Chiefs and Oklahoma Sooners. His dream was to one day have his own livestock herd and this dream was realized when Chad and Annie bought an acreage east of Shenandoah and he was able to buy his first two cows. He gradually built his herd, and just for the fun of it mixed in a Texas Longhorn they named, Hornette. His love of animals also extended to Rocky and Rufus, his two dogs. Chad was a member of the Elks Lodge in Shenandoah, American Legion Post 88, and Sons and Daughters of Imogene. When his Dad passed away in 2010, Chad followed his father's footsteps and organized the tractor pull at the Annual Tabor Farmer-Merchants Picnic. Chad was preceded in death by his father, Brent Richard Van Houten, his sisters, Angie Smith and Tawnya Van Houten; Grandparents Leslie and Helen Dunbar and Grandpa Richard Van Houten. He is survived by his wife Annie (Campin) Van Houten, step-children Thomas Norton of Corvallis, OR, and Kaitlin Nuckolls of Omaha, NE; mother Emily Van Houten, Sidney, IA; brother-in-law Shane Smith and fiancee Connie; siblings Cyndi Malcom (Adam), Tabor, IA; Jeff Van Houten (Ashly),Tabor, IA; Kristin Kates (Steve), Tabor, IA; Dawn Zaiger-Utley (Bobby), Silver City, IA; and Loa Van Houten-Greedy. Also left to cherish his memory are his father and mother-in-law Gary and Maureen Campin, Imogene, IA; sister-in-law Donna Seitz, Omaha, NE; brothers-in-law Tom (Traci) Campin, Crescent, IA; Jim Campin, Underwood, IA; Joe (Aimee) Campin, Overland Park, KS; Casey (Tracy) Campin, Omaha, NE; John (Niki) Campin, Plattsmouth, NE; a multitude of friends from across the Midwest, aunts, uncles, and thirty nieces and nephews who all loved their big, tall, fun-loving Uncle Chad.