Ervin "Farmer" F. Van Camp Sr.

Ervin F. Van Camp, aka Farmer, has finished his chores here on Earth and has been called home to be with his heavenly Father and family. Farmer was an extremely hard-working man and will be deeply missed by many, but his influence will remain with most of us forever.

Farmer was born on October 8, 1930, to Henry and Minnie (Timmers) Van Camp in Appleton, WI. They knew from the beginning that he was born to be a farmer hence the nickname “Farmer” that his dad gave him, and it stuck with him forever. He was very proud to be a farmer and told stories of working side by side with his mother and all he learned from her.

He married the love of his life, Elizabeth “Betty” M. Heimmermann April 28, 1951, and together they continued to farm and raise 7 children. Betty preceded him in death on July 2, 2006, and he missed her dearly every day. While Betty worked on the farm, Farmer worked for Kimberly Clark and then would come home to farm. Then in their early years together, they suffered a tragic farming accident that injured their son Timothy in 1966 and left him handicapped and then in 1968 a fire destroyed their barn. That is when he asked Betty what she wanted them to do for the rest of their life and they chose farming. He left Kimberly Clark and farmed with his wife and children.

In their later years, he got to enjoy vacations with Betty traveling to Disney, Hawaii, Nassau, and Europe as well as a few cruises. They also would snowmobile and host sheepshead card parties with friends and family. We enjoyed many get togethers on the farm playing baseball and having corn roasts during the summer.

Farmer was an active member of his community. He was a volunteer fireman for the Grand Chute fire department from 1952-1996. He was also a member of Knights of Columbus, and various farm related clubs, but his favorite involvement was with his church, St. Edwards. You would often hear him tell the story of how he started the tractor pull fundraiser for the parish in 1976, which is now known as The Mackville Nationals! He was close personal friends with all the priests, nuns, teachers, and members of the St. Edward parish. He thought of all of them as family and would do anything to help and you would see him several times serving at Mass or other services. A teacher shared with him once that the students were to write about who they thought was a saint and one of the students said Farmer Van Camp because he was always at church. He took comfort in knowing that the parish would be in good hands once he was gone. Those people stepped in when Farmer was recovering from a serious car accident in 2007. We remember the doctors telling us that if he survived the surgery and the night ahead, he would have years of painful rehabilitation ahead of him, but we told the doctor, “You don’t know Dad.” This was August and he was back to harvesting his corn and deer hunting in November.

As a family, we enjoyed many Packers, Brewers, and Badgers games together. Highlights included a bus trip to Minnesota to watch his grandson David pitch for the Twins in 2006. He was also honored to attend a Bucks game with his grandsons when they introduced him to owner Herb Kohl. He enjoyed hunting on his own land as well as hunting trips out west. The one place he did not get to visit with Betty was Alaska, so in 2009 he took his daughters, Charlotte and Laura, and their spouses on a 2-week excursion to Alaska where he made a lasting impression on our host, Rose, and celebrity guide, Tom Zalaski. He also enjoyed a snowmobile trip to Montana for a fundraiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America with his daughter Laura where they snowmobiled through Yellowstone National Park in 2018. The group was in awe that he was still riding at “his age.”

Farmer is survived by his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and recently 1 great great grandson, and nephew: Charlotte (Ken) Gassner and their 7 children and 18 grandchildren and 1 great grandson; Ervin Jr. (June) Van Camp and their 4 children and 12 grandchildren; Ronald Van Camp and his one daughter and 3 grandchildren; Donald Van Camp and his 7 children and 12 grandchildren; nephew, Randy (Sarah) Van Camp and 2 children and 2 grandchildren; Laura (Kelvin) Kimball and their 3 horses, 2 dogs, and 2 cats; and Willy Van Camp and his daughter and 2 grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Audrey Heimmermann and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty; son, Tim; and granddaughter, Jessica. He was also preceded in death by his parents, sisters, brother and their spouses; as well as his in-laws, cousins, and nieces.

Farmer will be remembered as a hard-working, God-fearing man. He tried to live by example, and it was hard for him to express his true feelings. We will always be proud to be the real “Farmer’s Daughters.” Many have thought of him as a dad and that he touched many lives, we know that he always tried to do his very best and he left an impression that will last for an eternity. He spent his final years farming alongside his grandson, Adam, always accompanied by his beloved Border Collie, Dusty, by whom he will be deeply missed. Go rest now Dad. We will now take over your chores and hopefully make you proud. We will all be together again someday.

Visitation will be held on Friday, June 12, 2026 from 4:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. at St. Edward the Confessor of Mackville, N2926 WI-47, Appleton, with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m. Visitation will continue at the church on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 9:00 a.m. until the Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. Farmer will be laid to rest in the parish cemetery. For online condolences, please visit www.valleyfh.com.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Fr. Raju Paletti and Dcn. Jeff Hofacker for providing Farmer with Last Rites as well as their overwhelming care and support during this time.  Also, we would like to Thank Randy for the special care he showed Dad while helping him shower and shave and keeping him looking and feeling his very best. And to Adam, Grandpa really appreciated you and knew he would not have been able to keep farming without you. 

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.