Where Are They Now?
Dublin graduate Shawna DeBoer finds inspiration in her family heritage. “My grandparents all came from Holland,” she said. “They lived in the Netherlands during World War II.”
One of her grandfathers was part of the Dutch underground resistance to German occupation. “Everything they had to face, what they had to do to survive, and the things they all lived through to get here [gives me strength],” DeBoer said.
DeBoer graduated from Dublin High School in 1989, and went to college at Dordt College (now University) in Iowa to study agricultural marketing. She knew about the school through her family and the Stephenville Christian Reformed Church. (Several people in her family went there in the past, and later DeBoer’s own daughter attended Dordt.)
While home for the summer, DeBoer met Durk DeBoer, a dairyman from Holland. The two began a long-distance relationship, and eventually DeBoer decided to leave school and move back to Dublin to marry Durk and work on his dairy, which was between Hico and Hamilton.
DeBoer was no stranger to dairy work. She grew up on the Dublin Dairy outside of town, so she was eager to continue in the family business. In 1996, the DeBoers sold their dairy and began working in contract farming.
“We do contract work for dairies,” she said. “We own the equipment to do the work, like manure hauling, lagoon pumping, and things like that. We also do work on cities’ ponds. We have even worked for Dublin.”
DeBoer and her husband’s company, called DeBoer Agricultural Holdings, is still going strong today. “We travel,” she said. “We do work all the way from Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and here in Texas.”
In the past the DeBoers have also grown and sold feed. DeBoer enjoys her work because of the variety. “It’s always different,” she said.
She also has done some different work on the side. A few years ago, DeBoer taught math and science at Stephenville Christian School. She also raises a few of her own cows, and is learning to make cheese, which she eventually hopes to sell. “I don’t have all my licenses yet, but I’m just working on perfecting my recipes and getting together all the stuff I need,” she said.
In the future, her younger daughter plans on taking over the daily business, so DeBoer can focus on her cheesemaking.
DeBoer and her husband currently live outside of Dublin. When they are not working, they enjoy breeding horses and taking them out on trails.
The DeBoers have two daughters, Janneke and Pietra. Janneke graduated from Dordt University and now lives in Hood River, Oregon, working as a civil engineer. Her younger daughter, Pietra, is currently taking a gap year, working with her family to learn the ins and outs of the business. Next year, she will start college at Ranger.
Throughout her life, DeBoer has leaned on her faith for inspiration and strength. “We’ve had challenges,” she said. “But you just know that God is there with you and no matter what, you’re not alone.”
DeBoer’s advice to Dublin graduates is to make the best of their situation, no matter what is happening in their lives. She gives the example of the story surrounding Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord.”
“Before that,” DeBoer said, “God is talking to the people — and these people are not at home in Jerusalem; they’re in Babylon; they’ve been taken — and He says, ‘You’re going to be stuck here for a while. You need to get married and you need to have your kids and you need to plant gardens and do everything that you’re going to do where you are. Even if it really wasn’t what you wanted, or really where you want to be. You just need to make your home where you are.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.