Delores Terpstra

Delores Louise Terpstra, known affectionately as Dee, passed away on March 3, 2026, at the age of 90. Born in 1935 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Harold and Louise Zuidema, she was their only child. Dee graduated from Godwin High School in 1953. Her life was defined by her deep faith and her salvation in Jesus Christ, in whom she now rejoices.

A member of Calvary Baptist Church for 60 years, Dee served faithfully in Pioneer Girls, Women’s Missionary Fellowship, and the church choir. She possessed a generous heart and a lifelong passion for missions, traveling to Portugal and Haiti on mission trips. She first married Wilfred Conklin, who passed away in 1957. She later married Royce Terpstra, and together they shared 51 years of marriage. They raised their children, William and Cindy, in Jenison, Michigan. Dee worked as an Avon representative and hostess at Russ’ Restaurant for 40 years, and she also worked alongside Royce at Terpstra Floor Covering in Grandville. The couple enjoyed traveling and taking cruises with lifelong friends, as well as spending time with their nine grandchildren.

In her later years, Dee became a member of Good News Baptist Church in 2009 and moved from her home in Hudsonville to Sunset Manor. She was remembered as a sweet and kind woman, a smiling friend, and a devoted prayer warrior for her family and others. She loved long walks, sunshine, and flowers.

Dee was preceded in death by her husbands, Wilfred Conklin and Royce Terpstra; her sisters-in-law, Shirley Holtrop, Sharon Zahm, Jackie O’Mealy, Kathy Hoogewind, and Nancy Wiersma; and many dear friends. She is survived by her children, William and Donna Terpstra, and Cindy and Timothy Schutter; her nine grandchildren, Matthew and Katie Terpstra, Brandon Terpstra, Jacey Terpstra, Chad and Katie Terpstra, Brett and Lexi Terpstra, Cara and Blake Kelly, Caleb and Amanda Schutter, Bethany and Michael Bremer, Rachel and Steven Young, and Ethan Schutter; and 19 great-grandchildren.