By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
For 60 years, Bosch’s Restaurant was a gathering place for the Zeeland community, and Catherine Bosch Wasson was in the center of it all for most of those years.
Wasson, who had two different stints owning the popular restaurant at 120 E. Main Ave., died Sunday at the age of 97.
“Catherine was a champion for downtown Zeeland,” said Doug Vos, owner of Don’s Flowers & Gifts and chair of the Shopping Area Redevelopment Board. “For many years while running the restaurant, she would take time out of her day to walk the downtown area, stopping in at various stores to check in and see how things were going, and if there was anything she could do for that store owner.
“Catherine truly felt the Zeel, before ‘Feel the Zeel’ was a slogan for Zeeland,” Vos added.
Catherine Mae Bosch Wasson was born on March 28, 1929 to John and Gertrude (Vereeke) Bosch in Zeeland. When she was 10 years old, in 1939, her father purchased the restaurant, and not long after, she and her siblings began working there.
“We were asked to go to work, either 4 to 7 or 4 to 11 every other day. So, like I say I was brought up in work,” Wasson said in a 2021 oral history interview with the Zeeland Historical Society.
“You didn’t have much choice. In my day you listened to what your parents said and didn’t ask any questions,” she added.
While Wasson continued to work for her father, she excelled in school. She was the valedictorian of the Zeeland High School class of 1947. She went on to attend Davenport University and earned an associate’s degree in business.
In 1969, Wasson purchased Bosch’s Restaurant from her father, and she operated it with her daughter, Cheryl. The restaurant was known throughout the community for its barbecue short ribs, pot roast, meatloaf, goulash and pigs in a blanket, and often hosted business and community meetings.
“It used to be that everyone came to town on Friday and Saturday night (to eat at Bosch’s),” Wasson told the Zeeland Record in a 1999 interview. “We would serve 200 to 300 dinners a night and we would be open until 11 p.m. Then we would close, hand-mop the floors and then be back at 6 o’clock in the morning to open the restaurant.”
Wasson initially retired from Bosch’s in 1991, but resumed ownership in 1996 when the buyers defaulted on their loan. She closed the restaurant and retired for good at the end of 1999 due to health issues.
Besides the restaurant, Wasson was active in local business and community affairs. She volunteered at Zeeland Community Hospital for 20 years, served on the board of the Zeeland Historical Society and also on the board of the Zeeland Education Foundation, according to the 2021 interview with the historical society.
In the early 1980s, when Main Place Mall was dedicated downtown, Wasson cut the ribbon marking its official opening. Later in life, she was involved in the creation of TimberTown and the splash pad downtown. She was also a passionate supporter of Zeeland High/Zeeland East athletics, showing up at basketball games as recently at this past winter.
Wasson was preceded in death by her siblings, Marian Cook and Don Bosch; and great-grandson, Maxwell Clay Kerr.
Wasson is survived by her children, Cheryl and Dennis Klingenberg, and Craig Wasson of the Holland-Zeeland area; grandchildren, Karen and Dan Jedrzejewski of Florida, Christina and Ryan Traynor of Wisconsin, and Catherine Meyer of Holland; and eight great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Wasson will be held Friday, April 24 at 11 a.m. at Second Reformed Church, 225 E. Central Ave., Zeeland. Visitation will be from 4 to 6:30 p.m. today at the Yntema Funeral Home, 251 S. State St., Zeeland. Interment will be in Zeeland Cemetery.
The family asks that all memorial contributions be made to the Catherine Bosch Wasson Scholarship Fund C/O the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area.
Zeeland Record
For 60 years, Bosch’s Restaurant was a gathering place for the Zeeland community, and Catherine Bosch Wasson was in the center of it all for most of those years.
Wasson, who had two different stints owning the popular restaurant at 120 E. Main Ave., died Sunday at the age of 97.
“Catherine was a champion for downtown Zeeland,” said Doug Vos, owner of Don’s Flowers & Gifts and chair of the Shopping Area Redevelopment Board. “For many years while running the restaurant, she would take time out of her day to walk the downtown area, stopping in at various stores to check in and see how things were going, and if there was anything she could do for that store owner.
“Catherine truly felt the Zeel, before ‘Feel the Zeel’ was a slogan for Zeeland,” Vos added.
Catherine Mae Bosch Wasson was born on March 28, 1929 to John and Gertrude (Vereeke) Bosch in Zeeland. When she was 10 years old, in 1939, her father purchased the restaurant, and not long after, she and her siblings began working there.
“We were asked to go to work, either 4 to 7 or 4 to 11 every other day. So, like I say I was brought up in work,” Wasson said in a 2021 oral history interview with the Zeeland Historical Society.
“You didn’t have much choice. In my day you listened to what your parents said and didn’t ask any questions,” she added.
While Wasson continued to work for her father, she excelled in school. She was the valedictorian of the Zeeland High School class of 1947. She went on to attend Davenport University and earned an associate’s degree in business.
In 1969, Wasson purchased Bosch’s Restaurant from her father, and she operated it with her daughter, Cheryl. The restaurant was known throughout the community for its barbecue short ribs, pot roast, meatloaf, goulash and pigs in a blanket, and often hosted business and community meetings.
“It used to be that everyone came to town on Friday and Saturday night (to eat at Bosch’s),” Wasson told the Zeeland Record in a 1999 interview. “We would serve 200 to 300 dinners a night and we would be open until 11 p.m. Then we would close, hand-mop the floors and then be back at 6 o’clock in the morning to open the restaurant.”
Wasson initially retired from Bosch’s in 1991, but resumed ownership in 1996 when the buyers defaulted on their loan. She closed the restaurant and retired for good at the end of 1999 due to health issues.
Besides the restaurant, Wasson was active in local business and community affairs. She volunteered at Zeeland Community Hospital for 20 years, served on the board of the Zeeland Historical Society and also on the board of the Zeeland Education Foundation, according to the 2021 interview with the historical society.
In the early 1980s, when Main Place Mall was dedicated downtown, Wasson cut the ribbon marking its official opening. Later in life, she was involved in the creation of TimberTown and the splash pad downtown. She was also a passionate supporter of Zeeland High/Zeeland East athletics, showing up at basketball games as recently at this past winter.
Wasson was preceded in death by her siblings, Marian Cook and Don Bosch; and great-grandson, Maxwell Clay Kerr.
Wasson is survived by her children, Cheryl and Dennis Klingenberg, and Craig Wasson of the Holland-Zeeland area; grandchildren, Karen and Dan Jedrzejewski of Florida, Christina and Ryan Traynor of Wisconsin, and Catherine Meyer of Holland; and eight great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Wasson will be held Friday, April 24 at 11 a.m. at Second Reformed Church, 225 E. Central Ave., Zeeland. Visitation will be from 4 to 6:30 p.m. today at the Yntema Funeral Home, 251 S. State St., Zeeland. Interment will be in Zeeland Cemetery.
The family asks that all memorial contributions be made to the Catherine Bosch Wasson Scholarship Fund C/O the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area.
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