Lubbers, Carolyn R. (Jaarsma) 1963-2009

LUBBERS, JAARSMA, NAGEL, KEUNING

Posted By: Ernie Braida (email)
Date: 1/13/2010 at 11:31:52

Carolyn Ruth Jaarsma was born on August 19, 1963, in Pella, Iowa. She was the eldest of three daughters born to Ralph and Elaine (Nagel) Jaarsma.

Carolyn grew up working in her family’s bakery where she learned the value of a dollar and hard work. Through her involvement in 4-H, Carolyn won special awards at the Iowa State Fair for an original needlework project and her muesli cookies.

She attended the Pella Community Schools and graduated from Pella High School in 1982. During college Carolyn began working at Mode Huis, a women’s clothing store in Pella.

Immediately after graduating from Central College in 1986, Carolyn and her partner, Mary (and Julie) Brillhart, bought the clothing business, Mode Huis, they continued to operate together until 1996. Many will remember Carolyn for her eye for complimentary styles and her personal attention to her customers.

Randy Lubbers wooed Carolyn with flowers and got her to experience things her family never dreamed possible such as tent camping trips and attending sprint car races in Knoxville, Iowa (each just once!) They were married on August 7, 1993 in Pella.

Randy’s love and devotion allowed Carolyn to blossom and accomplish things she hadn’t imagined possible. Carolyn’s nurturing and patience helped ground Randy and provide him a loving refuge. The birth of her children fulfilled Carolyn’s dream of being a mother. Elyse Kristina was born on January 6, 1996 (the first baby of the new year), and Luke Henri was born on August 2, 1999.

Although she continued to work part time at Jaarsma Bakery, most of her energy was devoted to creating a home where her family felt loved and secure. Carolyn’s kids were her top-priority and they brought her great joy. She went out of her way to find special activities for her family to do together as well as simply celebrating the everyday. These wonderful memories will last forever.

In 2004, Randy accepted a call to become the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Lake Crystal, Minnesota. Carolyn readily shared her gifts of hospitality and nurturing through her many projects with her new church family, just as she had at First Reformed Church in Pella previously. She had taught Sunday School and led Vacation Bible School, she organized mid-week, Tulip Time, and Thanksgiving meals, and collaborated on church cookbooks in both congregations. Carolyn reflected the love of Jesus through actions, not words.

Carolyn was a homemaker in every sense of the word. Her home was cozy and welcoming to all. Neighborhood kids flocked to her house knowing they would find home baked goodies, crafty projects, fun times, and unconditional love. Carolyn loved to spoil her friends and family with gifts made with her own hands: strawberry jam (especially for her dad), cheesecakes of all varieties, and most specially, beautiful cross-stitched masterpieces. The kids in the family will never forget Carolyn’s crazy driving to make for a fun ride, macaroni and cheese with chicken nuggets and lemonade on Saturdays, rain puddles and worms, and rounds of tickling.

Carolyn died on June 4, 2009, at Immanuel St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mankato, Minnesota after a courageous 4-year battle with ovarian cancer at the age of just 45 years.

Even through her toughest times, people were amazed by her patience and zest for life. She continued to care for and serve others first and to find joy and humor all around her. Shortly after receiving her cancer diagnosis, Carolyn told her mom, “I’m going to live until I die.”

Carolyn is survived by her husband, Rev. Randy Lubbers and their children, Elyse and Luke of Lake Crystal;a step-son, John Lubbers and his fiancée, Stephanie Knorr of Prescott, AZ; her parents, Ralph and Elaine Jaarsma of Pella, IA; two sisters and their husbands and children: Kristi and Dave Balk, Aric and Alli and Lisa and Brian Zylstra, Andrew and Matthew all of Pella, IA; aunts and uncles: Betty (Nagel) and John Sikkink of Apple Valley, Minnesota, Bernace (Jaarsma) Johnson and Howard and Ethel Jaarsma, all of Pella, IA; her parents-in-law, Charles and Arlene Lubbers and grandmother-in-law, Sylvia Lubbers of Orange City, IA; eleven cousins; two Dutch “sisters” Miriam Quataert and Danielle Van Zuiden; other family and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Frank and Celia Keuning Jaarsma and Floyd and Ruth Nagel.

Interment: Oakwood Cemetery in Pella

Van Dyk-Duven Funeral Home