Dick Talsma

Dick Talsma of Edgerton, formerly of Chandler died on Monday, March 23, 2020 at Edgebrook Care Center in Edgerton.  A private service will be held with burial to follow at the Chandler Memorial Cemetery.

Dick Talsma was born on April 1, 1917 in Rinsumageest, Friesland, Netherlands to Roy and Rena (Postuma Lindhorst) Talsma. He immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island in 1920 and settled on a farm by Allendorf, Iowa.  After moving many times in northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota, partly due to the Great Depression, they settled on a farm by Chandler, MN in 1938.

After meeting her at a dance, Dick married Angie Masselink in 1946 and farmed in the Chandler area until his retirement.  They were married 65 years, and to their union nine children were born.  Dick retired and moved into Chandler in 1979, but continued to help his sons farm, working in the fields till he was 92. He and Angie enjoyed many bus trips throughout the United States and Canada, visiting all 50 states and most provinces, including Prince Edward Island.  They enjoyed playing cards with friends, going for drives to check the area crops and to visit with friends and relatives, and Saturday suppers out. Dick was an avid reader until he couldn’t due to his declining health. He daily read his Bible, finding comfort in the Word.  He also enjoyed word searches and writing in a daily journal to record the day’s events and weather. Dick’s kids and grandkids enjoyed looking back through these journals during their visits. Dick was known for his firm handshake and his morning coffee at the Chandler café every day but Sundays.

After Angie’s death in 2011, Dick moved into the Edgebrook Assisted Living and lived there until March of this year when he moved into the Edgebrook Care Center and died there on March 23, 2020.

He was a man who was richly blessed in many ways, but especially with good health. He had very few sick days and only spent a few days in the hospital his entire life, always saying he “felt good everyday.”  During the first year of his life, the world was dealing with the Spanish Flu pandemic and although he never contracted the Coronavirus, his life was book-ended by pandemics.

Dick is survived by his three sons, Raymond (Sharon) Talsma, Chandler, MN, Glen (Marcia) Talsma, Edgerton, MN, Roger (Pam) Talsma, Chandler, MN; four daughters, Diane (David) Jurgensen, Worthington, MN, Dorothy (Verle) Vander Ploeg, Sibley, IA, Darla (Curt) Wieneke, Windom, MN, Denise (Scott) Marquardt, Plymouth, WI.  Two sons-in-law, Marvin Van Dam, Chandler, MN, and Pat (Charon) Doyscher, Round Lake, MN; Twenty-six grandchildren and forty-four great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, two daughters, Donna Van Dam, and Delores  "DeDe" Doyscher; two grandsons, Kevin Talsma and Paul Van Dam; Two brothers Albert (Ada) Talsma and John (Anne) Talsma; three sisters Clara (Andrew) Westra, Elizabeth (John) Fransen, and Margaret (John) Prins.

Chandler Funeral Association is in charge of the service.