Elaine Beverly Schuurman of Bradenton, Fl went to be with her Lord and Savior on January 19th, 2020. Elaine was born September 27th, 1933 in Fair Lawn, NJ to Irene and Theordore Brand. She was the beloved wife for 65 years of Jacob Schuurman who passed away March 8th, 2018.
Elaine and Jacob had five children – Linda McGlade, Cheryl Olsen, Craig Schuurman, Laurie Denton and Jay (Jacob) Schuurman – sixteen grandchildren (one of whom preceeded them both in heaven, Ryan McGlade). They are the matriarch and patriarch of a thriving legacy of sixteen grandchildren and thirty-two great grandchildren.
Elaine and Jacob, whose grandparents and parents (perspectively) were immigrants from Holland, were married in 1951 at the age of seventeen and started a family that same year. Jacob worked in his father’s laundry business in Garfield, NJ; and then at the age 28, Jacob and Elaine ventured out with their then family of six to follow the dream of owning a dairy farm in Upper State NY. Although, resident farmers thought this a greenhorn’s folly, their farm was a great success; and by the last farm in Mohawk, they had the highest herd average in the county.
A present day pioneer woman, Elaine was no normal housewife and mother of five. She could drive a tractor doing field work any day and milk over 100 cows single handedly. Her vegetable garden produced enough vegetables to last a winter; and her freezer was filled with vegetables, fruit and fresh meat (gotten from their own beef, pork and chicken). Sunday dinners at the Schuurman home were feasts set for royalty and her gift for hospitality made it look easy. Her beautiful flower garden with butterflies and hummingbirds and a pond filled with Koi could rival anything featured in the Good Housekeeping magazine.
In the cold winters of NY, Elaine was never idol, fashioning beautiful quilts that she gave to all of her children and grandchildren when they married, and to the first great grandchild in each family. Having a heart for the unborn, she volunteered for twenty years at the local pregnancy center, having a hand in saving countless babies. She had a beautiful voice and sang in the church choir and was often asked to sing solos, in the early years joined by her daughters Linda and Cheryl. Living a Christian life following Christ was preeminent in Jake and Elaine’s lives. Not always perfect, they stumbled and triumphed in their pursuits to follow their Savior. Overcomers in the end, each of them faced eternity with the hope of hearing the words, “Well done!”
Elaine never stopped reaching out to others and loving her family wholeheartedly even after her beloved Jacob left this earth. She was greatly loved by every one of her five children, sixteen grandchildren and her thirty-two great children. She held her friends dear and was true to her Lord; and never stopped praying for everyone in her life to know Christ and meet Him and her someday in heaven. She will be greatly missed!
A Memorial Service will be held at The Robert Toale & Sons Funeral Home at 1221 54rd Ave. E, Bradenton, Florida 34203
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