November 29, 1939 – March 17, 2020
Gerrit Thomas Bosma, 80, of Visalia, CA, entered into eternal life with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on March 17, 2020.
Gerrit was born in Middelstum, Netherlands on November 29, 1939, the son of Florence and Jacob Bosma. He had three sisters Grace Mulder, Alice Ham, Florence Batts, and three brothers John, Henry, and Jake (deceased). The family immigrated to America in 1950, first settling in Byron Center, Michigan, then in 1955 moving to Artesia, California. After graduating from Bellflower Christian School in 1958 he milked cows on his father’s dairy for two years and began dating Jeanette DeGroot, the love of his life. They were married on December 2, 1960 in Trinity Christian Reformed Church, in Artesia, California. In 1961 he began managing the Rockview Dairy farm in Downey, California. In 1969, Gerrit and Jeanette moved their family to a new dairy in Ontario, California. They were members of Calvary Christian Reformed Church, and their children attended Ontario Christian Schools. In 1990 the dairy relocated to Tipton, California, and in 2000 he retired to Visalia, California.
Gerrit and Jeanette enjoyed 59 years of marriage and together had five children, Jake Bosma (58) married to Terri, Loreen Messerschmitt (56) married to Mike, James Bosma (55), Kathy Koster (53) married to John, Gary Bosma (45) married to Monica. Gerrit enjoyed spending time with their 5 children, 14 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.
His favorite hobbies were traveling, fishing and golfing with friends and family. He made many trips to go bass fishing at Lake Powell and golfing in Palm Springs. His favorite pastime was trading the stock market.
He was an early adopter of technology, buying an Apple computer with profits made on the Apple stock. He would often be asked by friends if he could help fix their computers. In 2010 he built a home on the Kaweah River in Three Rivers and this became his “happy place”. He loved to watch the wildlife and enjoyed the views of the mountains there.
Throughout his life, Gerrit was a generous giver. He quietly gave to many different causes, but Christian education was dear to his heart. He lived out his final years at Sierra Village in view of Central Valley Christian School where his grandchildren attended. He was a member of Visalia Christian Reformed Church, a man of strong faith and full assurance of where he was going. He leaves his family a testimony of life lived in unwavering faith in Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior.
The family would like to thank Dr. Havard, his staff, the Kaweah Delta Private Home Care staff, and the Kaweah Delta Hospice staff for all their help during his illness.
A service to celebrate Gerrit’s life will be held graveside, 10:00am Thursday March 26, 2020 at 1300 West Goshen Ave, Visalia, CA.
Tributes and condolences can be made at www.millerchapel.com.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Central Valley Christian School (5600 West Tulare Ave Visalia, CA 93277) or Kaweah Delta Hospice (623 West Willow Ave Visalia, CA 93291).
