Mina Alida Verdoorn was born to Henry and Annie Huisman in Armour, South Dakota on May 18, 1928. She was the youngest of three, having an older brother Matt and an older sister, Anna. After losing their farm during the depression, the family moved to Newkirk, Iowa where Mina attended Newkirk School and started high school. When she was 12, her Mother died. After her Father remarried, Mina moved to Oregon to be with her brother, Matt. In 1946, she married Don Verdoorn, whose roots were also in Iowa. They were married 55 years before he passed away in a boating accident. Together they raised four children: Larry Allan, Ronald Dean, Leon Dale and Cheryl Sue. During her life she cleaned houses, babysat children and worked at Boring Grade School as a cook. It was in the kitchen she left her mark, cooking not only at school but at Heidi’s restaurant, the Clackamas County 4-H food booth and for all occasions at her church. She enjoyed square dancing when she was younger, attending the sports events and concerts of her children, reading and attending her Bible study group, which met for decades. Mina loved her crossword puzzles every morning and playing marbles and cards, especially pinochle. She and Don wintered in Arizona for many years during retirement. She is survived by her four children, eleven grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.