Francis “Van” Leonard van Veen
ST. IGNATIUS — Francis “Van” Leonard van Veen passed away peacefully at his home in Spokane, on June 28, 2012 at the age of 94 following a brief illness. Born Dec. 15, 1917 to Theodore and Doris (Habersetzer) van Veen in Portland, Ore., Van graduated from Franklin High School in Portland, received a B.S. and Masters in chemistry from the Oregon State University (1941 and 1942 respectively), and a medical degree from Oregon Health Sciences University (1946). Van met Patricia Konrad at a school dance in 1939 and in 1945 they married in Portland. In Oct. 2010 they celebrated 65 years of marriage. Patricia passed away after a brief illness in Feb. 2011. Like his wife, Van was fiercely independent and lived proudly in his own home until his passing.
Van was drafted into the Army as a medical student as was common practice at the time. After a civilian internship he was called back into the Army where he was assigned to research the effects of radiation at Los Alamos as an extension of the Manhattan Project. He was discharged as a Major after four years of service. Van and Patricia lived in different cities across the U.S. while working in medical research. In 1953 they settled in St. Ignatius where their family grew to 15 children. As a doctor, Van provided critical medical care to the entire region. He was instrumental in building a new hospital for the area and had a short stint as the mayor of St. Ignatius. He shared books with the community and developed many life-long friends. Van loved the people and lifestyle of the region and often shared his fond memories of their time there. In 1964 the family moved to Spokane where Van had a long and distinguished career practicing internal medicine and geriatrics. He was quick to make house calls and worked for a time as a deputy coroner for Spokane County.
Together, Van and Patricia raised 16 children. All, including many sons- and daughters-in-law and their families, will tremendously miss him. Van is survived by his sons; John, Richard, Michael, Robert, Steven, and David; daughters Mary Strzelec, Christina Ager, Kerry, Susan Scofield, Barbara, Julia Shaughnessy, Annette Moore, Margaret van Veen-Smith, and Sara Desmond; twenty grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren; brothers Allen and Tom; sisters Dorothy Iverson and Mary Lisignoli; and numerous nieces and nephews. Van is preceded in death by his wife Patricia, and their son Paul; his brothers Theodore and James; and his sister Janette.
Beyond raising a family, Van loved collecting and sorting stamps, singing, gardening, and the outdoors; he climbed Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood many times
But his favorite passion was reading. To him, there was nothing better than a good biography or a book on geography or history. Van kept a record of the over 5,000 books he read during his adult life.
An avid amateur photographer from an early age, he also recorded 80 years of memories with both still photographs and home movies.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 21, at 2 p.m., at St. Thomas More Church. A reception will follow at the church. Please call 503-807-8034 or Riplinger Funeral Home for details.
