Benjamin R Spoelstra

Benjamin Ray Spoelstra, age 98, passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon, January 26, 2025, in Bellingham Washington. Ben was born third child of eight to Rev. Peter and Ella Spoelstra in Grundy Center, Iowa on June 20, 1926. Ben was put to work in the celery fields of lower Michigan at the age of nine years old to help the family, and known there as a hard worker, he graduated to a night job at a lumber company to get him through high school. He served our country in the US Merchant Marines during WW2. Ben met and married Alyce J. Bosman, (aka: Toots Bosman) in Lynden, Washington. They moved to Montana for a short time and then on to small towns in Michigan. The angels took Alyce to her heavenly home at age 34 while she was a young wife and mother of five children. Shortly thereafter Ben attended the Reformed Bible Institute (RBI), in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a college with a global missions’ focus. Two years later Ben returned to Lynden, WA where he met widow Colleen Turk of Alger WA, and her three children. In Jan. 1964 they married and were wed for 56 years. Ben was a carpenter by trade, living and working in small communities in various states, moving his family frequently, buying homes and “flipping” them; however, he considered Whatcom County his home. He also enjoyed several side occupations such as: owner/cook of Lilac Lane Inn restaurant in Jenison, Michigan, as well as crop growing, cattle raising, and worm farming in WA State. For several years Ben and Colleen volunteered their time to missionary construction projects for various organizations such as Hard Hats for Christ, working in Washington; across the US; and in Spain, Mexico, and Sierra Leone, Africa. He enjoyed a variety of activities including Bible study, vegetable gardening, fishing, wood crafting, acrylic painting, reading and writing. In 2010 he authored and published a historical novel based on the life of the prophet Jeremiah, titled Sound of a Mighty Storm. His family so often heard him say, “I always wanted to do……!” And then he’d do it! Ben was very content living at North Cascade Health and Rehabilitation Center for the past three years and the family is grateful for the care and services they provided which have been a wonderful help and a blessing. Ben is preceded in death by his first wife Alyce, in 1960, and by his second wife Colleen, in 2020; by his siblings: Arthur Spoelstra, Evelyn Izenbaard, Marlys Grevengoed, Janet Vander Veen and her infant twin Joyce Spoelstra. Ben is survived by his children: Shelly Smits (Jim); Brent Spoelstra, (Mary Beth); Sonja Denney (Lew); Kirk Spoelstra (Katherine) and Rochelle Spoelstra; along with stepchildren: Eugene Turk, Kathy Cramer (Joe), and Laurie Baron (Jim); siblings: Ed Spoelstra of Minnesota, and E. Lee Stephens of Washington; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. At Ben’s request no memorial service will be held. He will be laid to rest at Enterprise Cemetery, Ferndale, WA. Burial is entrusted to Sig’s Funeral Home.