Te Slaa, Gerben 1920-2017

TESLAA, DEVRIES, ANDELA

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:34

Mr. Gerben Te Slaa, age 97, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, formerly of Hull, Iowa, passed away on Saturday, July 8, 2017, at the Good Samaritan Village in Sioux Falls.

There will be a funeral service on Wednesday, July 12, at 11:00am, at the First Reformed Church in Hull. Rev. Irwin Van Leeuwen and Rev. Kevin Yurk will officiate. Interment will follow the service at the Hope Cemetery in Hull. Visitation will be after 5:00pm on Tuesday, with the family present from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Hull.

Gerben was born on February 3, 1920, on a farm south of Hull, the son of John G. and Hattie (De Vries) Te Slaa. He attended Welcome Township No. 2 Country School through fifth grade. In 1931, the family moved from the farm into town, where he graduated from the Hull Public High School. He then assisted area farmers.

On June 8, 1944, he married Therissa Andela in Hull. They made their home in Hull, where he and his wife operated Gerb’s Hardware for thirty years, where they sold general hardware and appliances. They also farmed at Hull, growing corn and beans and raising livestock. He was also an enumerator for the United States Department of Agriculture. In October of 2010, the couple moved to Sioux Falls. Therissa passed away there on April 30, 2017.

Gerben was a lifelong member of the First Reformed Church. In earlier years, he served on the board of directors of the Hull Christian School and was a member and president of the Business and Professional Club. In addition, he was one of the original founders of the Pleasant Acres Care Center in Hull.

Gerb and Therissa enjoyed traveling to all 48 states and Europe, where they visited relatives in The Netherlands. He enjoyed playing games and watching all sports, particularly when his children and grandchildren were involved.

Survivors include his four children and their spouses, Helen and Irwin Van Leeuwen, Gaylen and Laura Te Slaa, and Terril and Lori Te Slaa, all of Sioux Falls, and Orlin and Julie Te Slaa, of Shakopee, Minnesota; ten grandchildren and their spouses, Debra and Jeffrey Tornow, Michael and Jodi Van Leeuwen, Sheryl and Dustin Brouwer, Jeffrey and Bethany Te Slaa, Karla and Todd Van Baren, Kathy and Thomas Kemper, Kimberly and Branden Dewing, Kyle and Stacy Te Slaa, Ryan and Emily Ritchie, and Brittany and Jesse Sievers; 22 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-granddaughter.

In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by a brother and his wife, Gerrit J. and Etta Te Slaa; two sisters and their husbands, Sadie and Joe Wolfswinkel and Gertrude and Henry Zoet; and a brother, also named Gerben.

Memorials may be directed to the Hull Christian School.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.