Gay Lynn Youngsma

Gay Lynn Youngsma, age 72 of Grand Rapids, passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 2, 2025 while receiving hospice care at Corewell Health – Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Gay was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 17, 1952 to the late Ralph and Grace (Vander Vliet) Youngsma.

Gay’s father died early in her childhood and her mother remarried Reuben Bielema in 1960. Gay and her older sister Trudy moved with her Mother to live her step-father and step-brother Dale in Fulton, Illinois. While growing up in Fulton, Gay was involved in many personal, high school, church and community activities such as playing in the high school band, owning a quarter horse named ‘Sonny’ who she rode in many of the Fourth of July parades and working part-time at a local restaurant. Gay graduated from Fulton High School in 1970.

Gay continued her education at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. After college she worked for General Telephone for a period of time in Mount Pleasant. She returned to Grand Rapids where she worked for a number of telephone answering service companies, and gave back to the community with her volunteer services at John Ball Zoo. Eventually, she settled into her career in the telephone service industry by securing a position with AT&T. She spend forty two years with the company working in many different positions including her favorite title as one of the Information Services Operators for thirty plus years! When AT&T reduced the number of Information Services Offices in Michigan, Gay qualified and secured a systems engineering support position until her retirement.

Upon retirement, Gay enjoyed the work-free life by meeting regularly with her friends from AT&T. She enjoyed the lake life on Lamberton Lake in northeast Grand Rapids. She especially enjoyed looking after the fish in her fish pond, playing with and caring for her dog, ‘Crystal,’ shopping for treasures at Estate and Garage Sales and partaking in cut flower arranging. She took many vacations traveling throughout Michigan and went on a once in a lifetime trip to France and England in August of 2024.

Gay is survived by her Partner in Life, Tom McDonald, her sister Trudie (Youngsma) Wierda and her niece Traci Wierda both of Grand Rapids, her niece Lisa (John) Miller and their daughters Christine and Stephanie Miller of Midlothian, Virginia and her step-brother Dale Bielema of Milford, Delaware.

A Celebration of Life is scheduled for Tuesday, January 14, 2025 from 1:00 p.m.to 3:30 p.m. followed by a prayer service at 3:30 p.m. conducted Rev. Jeremy Williams at Reyers North Valley Chapel 2815 Fuller Avenue N.E. Grand Rapids, MI 49505.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Gay’s memory should be made to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or your local Humane Society.