Terri Damstra

Terri Lynn Damstra was known to be late for everything. What family and friends remember most, however, is not the time spent waiting for her, but the time they spent enjoying her positive attitude, her generosity of spirit and her benevolent heart, which was always full of love for her two sons, family and friends.

Terri was born during a period of great change in our nation’s history. The mid 1960s marked a shift from the idyllic innocence of the previous decade into a slow burn of social unrest. Protest movements were at the forefront of discussion as more and more U.S. troops headed overseas to Vietnam. Despite the looming problems within the American society, Bill Damstra and his wife, Jeanne (Lamberts), of Holland, Michigan, were keeping positive spirits while anxiously awaiting the arrival of their second child. Daughter Terri Lynn was born on October 27, 1965, much to the delight of her parents. She was the second of three Damstra girls.

Terri spent her growing up years on the north side of Holland in a close-knit neighborhood on Beth Street. Her father earned a living working for Big Dutchman, which manufactured poultry feeders, while her mother worked part-time in her family’s business called Lamberts Poultry and Seafood. Bill and Jeanne raised their daughters in the Christian faith and attended the Berean Bible Church. Terri was a very pretty blonde haired girl with an outgoing and friendly personality. She had many friends in the neighborhood that she hung out with and caught the eye of many boys. She also had a very competitive nature, especially when it came to keeping up with her older sister in sports. Terri played volleyball and basketball her first two years of high school. When not trying to outdo her sister, one of Terri’s favorite activities was riding the mini bike her father built. She and her sister rode it so much that they had hardly any grass left in the backyard. When the girls were young, the family also enjoyed going camping a lot.

When Terri was twelve, her parents divorced and the girls stayed with their mother. However, Terri went to live with her father in her senior year of high school and graduated from West Ottawa High School in 1984. During high school, she loved to drive her dad’s 350 Yamaha motorcycle. Until one day, she crashed it and ended up in Holland Hospital with road rash and a broken collarbone. Unfortunately, the motorcycle was totaled and her father got rid of it. As a teenager, Terri worked at several different places, including Dutch Village, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s. After graduating, Terri went to Ferris College in Big Rapids, Michigan, for a brief time, but became homesick and returned home to her family.

Terri’s life took a new direction when she was introduced to Mike Plaggemars, through her friend Julie De Graaf, who worked with her at Pizza Hut. The two fell in love and was married on February 10, 1987. Soon after marrying, the newlyweds moved to Saugatuck, where Mike worked at Hayworth while Terri stayed home. It was here that Mike and Terri welcomed the birth of their first son, Zachary, in 1987. Their second son, Joshua, was born in 1989. They then rented an old farmhouse on the south side of Zeeland, where she babysat for her nephews, Jason, and Cody. After two years they moved to “the Green House” on 8th and Ferris Avenue in Holland Heights. Although the house was painted an awful green color, it had a nice big backyard for her boys to play. Terri had a real knack and passion for decorating, so the inside of the house was constantly changing colors or wallpaper.

In 1992, Terri and Mike divorced after five years of marriage, but she and boys continued to live in the “green house.” She then went to work at Meijer on 16th Street to support her sons. Some time later, Terri decided to move to Virginia to pursue a relationship with her new boyfriend, but found she couldn’t keep custody of her sons if she did. Terri loved being a mother to her two boys and chose to stay in Holland. As a young mother, she didn’t have to be a good cook because her boys would only eat cold hot dogs for the longest time. Though later they both fondly remember her enchiladas and lasagna she made too. Terri was a real dog lover and had many through the years. Her son Zach said “we went through them (dogs) fast, they were always running away.”

Terri later went to work at the local Christian rock radio station 99.3 WJQ in Holland. Church was always very important to Terri and she later in life made a confession of faith. She was an active member at Central Wesleyan Church in Holland and enjoyed being involved in the singles group at church with Pastor Kelly Schroeder.

Terri loved many things in life, but first and foremost was her God and two sons. Yet, NASCAR racing and her favorite driver, Bobbie Labonte, in car #18, was a very close second. Through the years, she went to many NASCAR races at the Michigan Speedway and just loved the roar of the cars going passed. In her more leisure moments, Terri enjoyed curling up with a good book or doing some gardening. She liked a wide variety of music and was always well organized, everything had to be just the way she wanted it. One of her most endearing traits was her “gift of gab” and invariably after every sentence she would say, “You know what I mean” or if she knew she was absolutely right, which was often, she replied, “I bet you.” Because of health problems and back troubles, Terri was living with her mother and was unable to work, but did volunteer time at WJQ.

Terri was one of those special people who appreciated the many things that make life so valuable – family, friends and faith. A devoted mother, Terri lived in harmony with her beliefs and ideals, knowing that nothing was more important than the love of family. She will be deeply missed.

Terri Lynn Damstra, age 39 of Holland, MI, died on Thursday, April 28, 2005, at the Holland Hospital. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Julius Lamberts, and Mr. and Mrs. Martin Damstra. Her family includes her sons: Zachary Plaggemars and Joshua Plaggemars of Holland; parents, Jeanne and Sam Sovienski of Holland, and father, Bill and Mary Damstra of Holland; step daughter Alicia Fahlfing of Ann Arbor, MI.; sisters: Sherri Daly of Holland and Kim Mills of Holland; 6 nieces and nephews; and several uncles, aunts and cousins. A service will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 2, at the Central Wesleyan Church of Holland with Rev. Kelley Schroder officiating, and burial at a cemetery in Holland, MI. Visiting will be from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on Sunday, May 1, at the Northwood Chapel, Dykstra Life Story Funeral Home, 295 Douglas Avenue, Holland, MI. Please visit Terri’s personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory, order flowers or make a memorial contribution to the Zachary and Joshua Plaggemars Trust Fund, at Macatawa Bank, 20 East Lakewood Blvd., Holland, MI.