2 minute read
Fred Witterveen Joanna Baker
Fred Witteveen has been living in the Gallup area for many years. He and his wife Harriet arrived in Gallup in 1982, after he retired from General Motors in Michigan. Fred was born and raised in Holland, Michigan, and moved to Grand Rapids
FRED WITTEVEEN
around 1951 where he and Harriet raised their family. They moved to Gallup to work at Rehoboth Christian School. The school on the East end of Gallup was well known in their home town of Grand Rapids because of the missionary work their church had been involved in. It was the missionaries from Michigan that originally started Rehoboth Christian School, circa 1903.
Harriet was hired by Rehoboth Christian School as a home economics teacher, where she taught for four years. Fred and Harriet fell in love with the Gallup area. They loved the dry air, the beautiful landscape, and the small community. The two of them lived on campus at Rehoboth, and after Harriet retired from teaching, they stayed on at the school as volunteers for thirtyfive years. They helped in the shop, ordering the supplies and in the office with bookkeeping. They created and participated in afternoon break-time at the school for the employees and teachers, which included coffee, tea, and baked goods. It was well received and continues to this day.
Fred and Harriet had three children, two of whom remain in Michigan where they are raising their families. Harriet passed away in 2010 and Fred currently resides at the Beehive Home of Gallup, where he is surrounded by friends and his church family. He is an avid baseball fan; the Arizona Diamondbacks are his favorite team, and as he pointed out, are currently in first place in the National League West.
