Julia Tjoelker

Julia (Slager) Tjoelker, age 88, was called home to her Heavenly Father on Friday, March 4 after a five-year struggle with sarcoma cancer.

Although she enjoyed life and all the blessings she received in her earthly pilgrimage, she looked forward with great anticipation to the glorious day when she would stand, free of sin and suffering, before her savior, Jesus Christ. 

Born to Richard and Jenny Slager and raised in Cambria, Wisconsin on Aug. 11, 1933, she moved to California in 1952 where she met and married her husband Charles.

In 1962 they moved to Everson, where they raise their family on 67 acres on the South Pass Road. 

The farm was a great place for kids, cattle, and Charles’s trucking business.

In 2019 they sold the farm and moved into a smaller home in Lynden.  

In 2021, needing more care, they moved in with her daughter, Victoria and her husband Dave, where she was comfortable and lovingly cared for to the end of her earthly life. 

Julia was a faithful wife, mother, and homemaker. She kept all the bookkeeping for her husband‘s trucking business while also working part time in various jobs.

Julia was bookkeeper for S&H Auto Parts, laundress at CHCC, and server at Cedar Springs Retreat Center. Her main hobbies were sewing and jigsaw puzzles.

Julia was a member of Lynden United Reformed Church where she was blessed to hear God‘s word faithfully preached each Sunday. Daily she grew in grace and on the way to sanctification.  

Julia is survived by her husband, Charles of nearly 65 years, daughters Victoria (Dave) Meyers and Roxanne (Troy) Sappingfield, sons Rick (Connie) Tjoelker and Wylin (Hilda) Tjoelker, 13 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. 

Julia was preceded in death by one daughter, Judith, her parents, three brothers Henry, George and Clarence Slager, and two sisters Alice Kuiper and Evelyn Dalhn. 

The family wishes to thank her team from Hospice for the tender and dedicated care they gave as she progressed towards heaven. Special thanks to Hospice nurse Patrick, Chaplain Martin, Bath aid Andrea, Acupuncturist Robyn, Nurse Dawn, and everyone at Hospice who answered the phone for their many concerns and questions. 

A memorial service will be held at United Reformed Church on Saturday, March 12 at 11 a.m., following a private family burial.

Memorial gifts may be made to Free Grace Broadcaster 2603 West Wright St., Pensacola, FL 32505 or Ebenezer Christian School. 

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Gillies Funeral Home and Cremation Services.