Todd H. Talsma, age 61, of Zeeland, Michigan, entered the gates of heaven on August 24, 2025, after an exhausting battle with cancer.
Todd was born in Zeeland, Michigan, to Harvey and Irene Talsma. He grew up in Borculo and graduated from Zeeland Public Schools. He received his Associates degree in Accounting and Information Technology from Davenport College in 1984. After a 30 year gap, he returned to school and received his Bachelors degree in Leadership from GVSU in 2017. His career included IT, Accounting, and Materials Management positions at Bil-Mar Foods, The Title Office, Sligh Furniture, Hudson Lock, Michigan Office Solutions, and K & R Truck Sales.
In 1988, Todd married Carol Johnson. Their children, Liz Talsma and Thomas Talsma, grew up knowing their dad loved them and made them a priority in his life. As a family, they enjoyed camping, traveling, amusement parks, and lots of laughter.
In Todd’s spare time, he loved to learn new skills and enjoyed many hobbies. He kept busy with woodworking projects, lifting weights, wine making experiments, fly fishing, building bamboo fly rods, researching family genealogy, listening to music, volunteering on the church’s tech team, playing and watching many sports, kayaking, traveling, shopping for novelty T-shirts, and creating beautiful hats and dishcloths with crochet.
Todd is survived by his wife of 36 years, Carol Talsma; daughter, Liz Talsma; son, Thomas Talsma; sister, Carol Bouman; sister, Mary (Doug) Windemuller; sister-in-law, Jan Talsma; sister, Barb (Ralph) Byma; sister, Sandy (Jim) VandeWaa; sister-in-law Peggy (Jon) Fakler; brother-in-law, Dave (Sandy) Johnson; brother-in-law, Craig (Janet) Johnson, and many cousins, nephews, and nieces.
Todd’s big physical presence was matched by his big compassionate personality, his big joyful laugh, and his big rock-solid faith. He will be missed.
A memorial service will be held at 11 am Thursday, August 28, 2025 at Faith Reformed Church, 220 West Central Avenue, with Rev. Jonathan Elgersma officiating. Burial will be in Graafschap Cemetery. Visiting will be 1-3 and 6-8 pm Wednesday (August 27) also at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to Wings of Mercy or Shields of Hope – West MI.
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