In Memory of Vanessa K. Eng

Vanessa K. Eng, age 53, of Lead, South Dakota, passed away on July 10, 2026, in Rapid City, South Dakota. 

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, September 18, 2026, at the Christensen-Van Houten Funeral Home of Ida Grove, Iowa. Beth Vogt will officiate. Committal Services will follow in the Ida Grove Cemetery of Ida Grove, Iowa. 

A Visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Friday, September 18, 2026, at the Christensen-Van Houten Funeral Home of Ida Grove, Iowa.

The Christensen–Van Houten Funeral Home of Ida Grove, Iowa, is in charge of the funeral arrangements. Condolences may be sent online to www.christensenvanhouten.com

Vanessa K. Eng, 53, passed away peacefully on July 10, 2026, in Rapid City, South Dakota, after cancer claimed her life. Surrounded by the love of family and close friends, she left this world as she lived it—on her own terms. 

Vanessa's story began with a long-awaited phone call: “We have a baby girl.” Born on July 7, 1973, she was placed into the loving arms of her parents just days later and became the daughter they had been waiting for. She was raised on the family farm, where she learned the value of hard work, independence, compassion, and never being afraid to get her hands dirty. Those qualities stayed with her throughout her life. Vanessa loved animals deeply, appreciated the outdoors, and found a kind of peace in nature and the simple things in life. 

After high school, she briefly attended Iowa Lakes Community College and explored several different paths before finding her place in the Fabrication Department at GOMACO Industries. Her determination, work ethic, and willingness to work hard earned her the respect of the people around her.

But Vanessa's greatest accomplishment—and the role she treasured most—was becoming a mother to her daughter, Maddy Kay. When Maddy was two, Vanessa packed up and joined her partner, Roger Harrell, in Cody, Wyoming, where the two built a life together. In 2020, they purchased land near Lead, South Dakota and began building their dream cabin in the Black Hills. It was a place that felt like Vanessa—surrounded by nature, away from the noise, and built with their own hands and determination with help from close friends and family. 

Vanessa had a sharp wit, an even sharper tongue, and absolutely no interest in sugarcoating anything. She said what she thought, did what she wanted, and occasionally left the rest of us standing there wondering, “Did she really just say that?” Yes. Yes, she did. 

She wasn't a woman of grand gestures or flowery words. Vanessa's way of loving people showed up in loyalty, laughter, and being there when it mattered most. She was also still a kid at heart. She loved to have fun and took great pride in being the “Fun Aunt”. She had a special place in her heart for all the kids in her circle of family and friends and had a way of making them feel like they were part of her world. 

Vanessa had a way of making ordinary moments memorable. She could turn a simple conversation into a story, a quiet moment into a laugh, and a gathering into something people would talk about long afterward. She didn't need a spotlight to make an impression. What remains now are the pieces of her we carry with us—the sound of her laugh, the stories, the ridiculous moments, the adventures, the memories that make us smile, and all the little things that were simply Vanessa.

She is lovingly remembered by her daughter Maddy; life partner Roger Harrell;her mother Deloris “Shorty” Shaw; brother Eugene Eng; sister Tania (Cory) Moss; nephew Mathew Kaas; nieces Leah Eng, Kira (Dan) Nowatzke, and Sarah Kaas; along with extended family, dear friends, and countless people whose lives she touched along the way.

She was preceded in death by her father Vincent Eng; brother Terry Eng; maternal grandparents Helen and Arthur Hansen; paternal grandparents Edith and Clarence Eng; nephews Jacob and Jordan Kaas; and several beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins.