Sunday, May 24, 2009

Martin Terpstra

Martin Terpstra, 89, passed away at Ridgewood Care Center on Sunday, May 24, 2009.

Marty was born in Racine on August 28, 1919, to Martin and Jennie (nee, Krotz) Terpstra. He married the former Lois Neu who preceded him in death. Marty enlisted in the Army in December 1942 and was assigned to the 39th Combat Engineer Battalion where his lifelong passion for motorcycles served him well as a frontline courier. He participated in the invasion of Sicily, the campaign in Naples, the liberation of Rome and into the Northern Alps. He was honorably discharged in October of 1945. He worked as a truck driver for many years before retiring from Payne & Dolan in the early '80s.

Marty is survived by his children, William (Linda) Terpstra and Nancy (Bill Stanovich) Terpstra; grandchildren, Jim (Caron) Truesdill, Jennifer (Pete) Rodrigues, Ryan (Jewel) Dobbie and Robyn (Jason) Simrell; and four great-grandchildren. Marty is also survived by other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Carolyn Truesdill.

Private family services will be held. Interment will take place in Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery with full military honors.

The family would like to thank the staff at Ridgewood Care Center for all of their compassionate care.

Purath-Strand Funeral Home & Crematory
3915 Douglas Ave., Racine (262) 639-8000

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Fondest memories of our great-uncle "Mucky", from Grace's granddaughter in Florida, Marlene Hintz.