Bertha Miersma

Bertha (van de Pol) Miersma passed into the presence of her Lord and Savior on March 28, 2008, in St. Camillus Health Center, Whitinsville.

Bertha Miersma was born Eibertje van de Pol in Nunspeet in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands on October 14, 1915. She immigrated to the United States with her paternal grandmother, passing through Ellis Island, New York on her way to rural southwestern MN. Her father, Peter, had come to the United States a year earlier with her younger brother Jan. Her mother, Willemptje (van de Kolk) van de Pol was ill and remained in the Netherlands until her death. Sadly, young Jan van de Pol died before his sister arrived in the United States.

Peter van de Pol owned and operated a dairy farm and bought and sold livestock and farm equipment from the time he arrived in the United States until his death in 1968. Peter remarried. Bertha's half-sister Jennie, her late half-brother Edward and her half-brother William were born between 1939 and 1944.

Eibertje "Americanized" her name to Bertha and obtained her United States citizenship. After many years of working with her father and grandmother on the farm, she enrolled in Reformed Bible Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She graduated in 1942 as part of RBI's first graduating class with a Certificate of Christian Ministry.

After graduating from RBI, Bertha worked as a teacher and counselor at Burton Heights Mission and Fourth Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. Bertha took on the responsibility of managing the snack shop at the Calvin College Campus in 1951.

While at Calvin, Bertha met John Miersma, a tool designer at Rapid Design Service in Grand Rapids, who stopped by Calvin from time to time for a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. While John moved to southern California in 1953 to join the growing aerospace industry, he and Bertha continued to correspond. John and Bertha were married in Lakewood, California on Christmas Eve, 1955.

By 1957, John and Bertha had moved to Redlands, California where they became charter members of the Highland Avenue Christian Reformed Church. In June of that year, a son, John Peter was born.

In 1963, Bertha and John were asked to become charter members of the Riverside Christian Reformed Church in neighboring Riverside, California where John worked for Rohr Aircraft Corporation. The Miersmas moved to Riverside where they lived through 1975.

John retired in 1969 and the family traveled extensively in North America for many years. John and Bertha enjoyed buying, refurbishing, and selling antiques and home shop tools. They stayed close to their extended family and a wide circle of friends.

In 1975, the Miersmas moved back to Grand Rapids. John and Bertha returned to Redlands, California in 1981 and renewed their ties with the Highland Avenue Church.

After enjoying nearly twenty-eight years of retirement, John passed away after a short illness in 1996. A year later, Bertha moved to Massachusetts to live with her son and his family in Whitinsville. In late 2002, Bertha moved to the Whitinsville Retirement Home. Bertha was active in the Fairlawn Christian Reformed Church in Whitinsville and frequently visited elderly shut-ins.

Bertha was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. She leaves her son John and his wife Kirstie of Whitinsville; granddaughter Anneke and her husband Kevin Huisman and great-grandson Koen of Grand Rapids, MI, granddaughters Erika and Greta and grandson Hans all of Whitinsville, her half-sister Jennie Prince of Pipestone, MN and her half-brother William van de Pol of Denver, CO. She was predeceased by her half-brother Edward van de Pol.

A graveside funeral service will be held Friday April 4, 2008 at 11 AM in Hillside Memorial Park, 1540 Alessandro Rd., Redlands, California.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate your support of the thrift store start-up fund at Whitinsville Christian School, 279 Linwood Ave., Whitinsville, MA 01588.

Arrangements under the direction of Buma Funeral Home, Whitinsville.

www.bumafuneralhome.com