Lucien Urbain VerPlaetse

Lucien Urbain VerPlaetse, 95, of Moline, passed away Monday, October 3, 2022, at Bickford Cottage, Moline. Funeral services are 10 a.m. Thursday, October 13, 2022, at DeRoo Funeral Home,  Moline, with a rosary recited before services at 9:30. Committal will be at St. Mary's Cemetery, East Moline.

Luc was born February 22, 1927, in Ruiselede, Belgium, to Cyril and Alida (DeSmet) VanDerPlaetse and spent his childhood working on the family farm. He survived the German invasion of Belgium during WWII and told stories of being chased through the streets of his hometown, to avoid inscription into the German Army. At age 18, he joined the Belgian Army, served his required time and was honorably discharged. At the age of 25, speaking no English, he ventured to the US and settled in Moline, where he went to work for his uncle in the family business, Highland Dairy. He later secured a position at Eagle foods Warehouse in Milan as a forklift operator, retiring after 27 years of service. Luc became a naturalized U.S. citizen in the spring of 1958. During the summer of that year, he traveled back to Belgium to attend the World's Fair in Brussels. While visiting, he met his future wife, Veronica. After a year of airmail courtship, he returned to Belgium to marry Veronica Delember in 1959. They were married 22 years and raised two daughters until the time of her death in 1981. Luc spent much of his free time playing golf and maintaining his flower gardens. 

Those he leaves behind with love and memories include his daughters, Betsy VerPlaetse Muckleroy and her husband, Stephen of Houston, TX, and Linda Lee, Boca Raton, FL, granddaughters, Nikole (Connor) Moyer, Jessica (Ross) Gemmill and Stephani (Sean) Mumma, great-grandchildren, Elida, Henry, Everett, Neil, Cheyanne, Tyler and Zoey. 

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