Barbara Jean Wiersma

Barbara Jean Wiersma of Columbia, Tennessee, was 69 years old when she ran to Jesus on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, after suffering two strokes. She was a light to everyone around her and served with a humble and giving heart. She never married.

She worked at General Motors in Michigan for many years before she retired and moved to Tennessee to live with her sister Jane and near her niece, Melissa Hogan, and her three sons, in Thompson’s Station.

Barb loved people well. With a quiet personality, she would work behind the scenes and was always willing to help. To her nieces and nephews and their children, she was that favorite relative that everyone loved to spend time with. They grew up visiting her house, playing with the toys she kept especially for them, and each feeling like they were her favorite. More recently, her great-nephew, who has special needs, loved that she always took him to his weekly horseback riding lesson at Saddle Up! in Franklin and then to Burger King afterward.

She is survived by her three sisters, Jane Hancock of Columbia, Tennessee, Eileen Posthuma of Jenison, Michigan, and Joyce Austin of Rockford, Michigan, as well as many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews.

Barb was pre-deceased by her parents, Owen and Orpha (Blickley) Wiersma of Grand Rapids, Michigan, for whom she faithfully cared for many years.

Please join us in celebrating Barb’s life at 2pm on Sunday, April 7, 2019, at The Church at Station Hill, 8083 Station Hill Drive, Spring Hill, TN 37174. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Project Alive, a charity started by her niece that funds research for her great-nephew’s condition, Hunter Syndrome, at projectalive.org.