Donald J. De Vries

San Jose, California

Donald J. De Vries, 85, of San Jose, California formerly of Sheldon, passed away on Monday, May 4, 2026, at his home. A graveside service will be held at 12 (noon) on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at East Lawn Cemetery in Sheldon with Pastor Paul Van Maaren, officiating.

Military honors will be presented by the McGlothlen-Cowie Post of the Sheldon American Legion.

Arrangements are under the care of the Vander Ploeg Funeral Home in Sheldon.

Donald J. De Vries 

July 13, 1940 – May 4, 2026

Don De Vries was born in Sheldon, Iowa in 1940, the third son of Joe and Marie De Vries. He had a paper route on these very streets. His father’s Naval career later brought the family to Winterset, New Orleans, Athens, Georgia, and eventually back home to Sheldon.

While attending high school in Orange City, Don met his high school sweetheart, Ruth Jacobsma, from a farm near Boyden. They married while attending Northwestern College. Don and Ruth moved to Iowa City so Don could attend the University of Iowa where he graduated before beginning his own service with the United States Navy.

His Naval service began with Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, followed by a commission aboard the U.S.S. Paul Revere. When his service aboard ship concluded, he was stationed at North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado, California. Don and Ruth quickly took a liking to California — especially the absence of snow in the winter — and decided to make it home.

Don was later accepted to the Santa Clara University School of Law, graduating in 1969. Thus began a legal career in the South San Francisco Bay Area that would span nearly fifty years and include service as a Judge Pro Tempore of the Santa Clara County Superior Court, as well as a professor at Santa Clara Law School.

He also carried on the tradition of the Reformed Church in America, helping establish his family at Church of the Chimes in San Jose in 1967, where he remained involved in church leadership for decades. His service within the RCA eventually expanded to the national level, including regular work and travel connected to the denomination’s leadership in New York City. Separately, he also served on the Northwestern College Board of Directors in Orange City, Iowa.

And throughout it all, he loved Ruth Jacobsma from Boyden, Iowa; his two sons and their families; the Oakland Raiders; and Corvettes.

His kindness, generosity, and affable spirit will be remembered long after he is gone.