Joan Droogsma

Joan Droogsma, age 92, of Milaca, passed away Wednesday, April 13, 2022.  Funeral services will be held Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 11 AM at the Christian Reformed Church in Pease.  Interment will follow at Pease Cemetery.  Visitation will take place from 9:30 - 11 AM at the church on Saturday.

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Joan (Hanenburg) Droogsma, was born to Jacob and Tillie (Bouma) Hanenburg in Pease, Minnesota on March 26, 1930. She died on April 13, 2022 at the age of 92 at the Milaca Elim Home only a few miles away.  She was baptized and died as part of the Pease Christian Reformed Church family. Because of her faith, her children see April 13 as her big moving day. She has moved on to heaven to join family members who went before her:  her parents, husband, Ernest Droogsma, sister, Elsie Liepitz, and brothers, Andy and Wes Hanenburg.

She is survived by her sisters, Sadie Negan and Mary Nielsen and her six children whom she loved equally: Paul and Jackie with 2 children, Morris and Linda with 2, Chuck and Mary with 3, Lenore and Bill Ward with 2, Glenda and Joseph Musoba with 1, and Larry and MaryBeth with 2.  She has 14 great-grandchildren. For her first major move, she boarded a train for Calvin College in pursuit of a teaching certificate. After teaching first grade in Zeeland, Michigan for a couple of years, she returned to Pease to marry Ernie in 1953. Four years later she was raising 3 boys followed by 2 girls and another son. Her husband, children, and grandchildren were her life. She raised her children to serve God and others.

She chose to serve the needs of others over her own, but she didn't want to be recognized for it. She went on mission trips to Grenada and the Dominican Republic and always loved being a part of the Mission Society. One of her gifts was hospitality and in keeping with that there was always coffee and snacks ready at her house. Her most public role was singing in duets and trios in church. She was an alto and loved being a supporting voice rather than singing lead. Yet, she was a role model as a mother to her children and patient care-giver for her brother with down's syndrome. Therefore we celebrate her well-lived life and her big move from suffering here on earth to joy in heaven.