William Douma, 89, of West Hartford CT, passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 29, 2022. Born in Franklin, NJ on 23 February 1932, he was the son of the late Frank and Hilda (Van der Let) Douma. He married his beloved Barbara Hannon on July 30, 1955 in Newton, New Jersey; that is the milestone date and location our family has determined to have his Memorial Service.
After getting married, our parents began their life adventures by driving across country to California. Upon their return, Bill followed his father into dairy farming, first at the family farm in Newton, then to Hackettstown NJ, followed by farms in Fort Plain and Jamestown, NY, before moving to Connecticut to manage farms in Bridgewater, Hillsdale and finally Eddy Farm in Newington.
Bill loved animals and nature, reading, listening to and singing music of many genres, dancing, making people laugh and finding 4 leaf clovers but his real joy was spending daily life with his best friend and wife Barbara…who he missed so much and now is able to be with forever.
Bill and Barbara’s children and their spouses left to reminisce and honor them are: Caryn Douma and husband Eric Eichenwald; William Douma and wife Maria; Janice Douma Lange; Colleen Douma-Chiarito; Kevin Douma; Michele Thorn and husband Jim. In addition, their ten beautiful grandchildren: Zachary and wife Emily, Taylor, Connor, Michael and wife Katie, Megan and husband Kevin, Hallie, Madison, Julia, Caroline, Jocelyn (and her Mom Dianna, a long time family friend) along with 3 great-grandsons Nolan, Ryan and Matthew.
A Memorial Life Celebration will be held on Saturday, July 30th 2022 at 130 PM, at the Yellow Frame Presbyterian Church, 1 Yellow Frame Road Newton, New Jersey 07860. The graveside service will take place immediately after at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Newton. All are welcome.
For any inquiries, please contact Janice Douma Lange at jmdlange@gmail.com
