A Throughline of Faith
By Matthew Clifford
Duane Sjaardema, Pella Christian High School.
Duane Sjaardema in his later years, Family Search.
Duane Richard Sjaardema
July 14, 1931 – February 19, 2016
Duane Richard Sjaardema’s story begins in Buena Vista, but not the Colorado city; instead, he was born in the Buena Vista Township in Iowa.[1] Sjaardema would be raised in Pella, Iowa, a moderately sized town just over forty miles outside of Des Moines. Starting young, his parents raised him religious, sending him to the Pella Christian High School, where each student was required to have a Bible class each semester.[2] Duane would also be a member of the school’s athletic association for both his sophomore and junior years. While a student, he also found a job locally at a farm,[3] a common position for a student to take while living in Iowa.
Following his time in high school, Sjaardema would end up fighting in the Army during the Korean War as a Private First Class. The Korean War was one of the first few applications of the Containment Policy, a US international policy focused on containing the spread of communism to other nations during the Cold War.[4] With Korea splitting into North and South Korea, the United States sided with the non-communist South Korea, leading to US involvement in the Korean War. Soldiers would be sent over to support our allies, the draft would be resumed, and Sjaardema would register for the draft.[5] After entering, Sjaardema likely faced a miserable time in Korea; the war was known for its extremely rainy conditions, with the Korean War memorial depicting the US soldiers in ponchos and rain gear.[6]
Once Duane returned to the US, he would begin attending Calvin College (now Calvin University), a Christian Reformed college in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[7] Here, he would pursue an engineering degree and would be a member of the college’s Engineering Club.[8] Soon after, Duane’s family would move to Denver, finding new communities and occupations waiting. Before too long, his family had settled in at the Second Christian Reformed Church of Denver, where he would meet Violet Westenburg. Duane arranged a date with her, one in which he took her around Washington Park and then drove donuts for fun.[9] They would be married in August of 1966, and they would go on to have six children. To support the family, Duane worked at the now closed Rocky Mountain Arsenal as an engineer, helping handle radioactive weapons of war.[10] His family would remain committed to their faith, with his wife being involved in multiple local church activities during her lifetime. His own contributions to his church include being a leader in prayer for the congregation, being listed as a member of a prayer team[11] and even being referenced in sermons a few years after his death.[12] Even in death, it was requested that rather than sending flowers, donations be made to Talking Bibles International, which translates Bible scripture into other languages to make it more accessible. Duane’s dedication to his faith shone throughout his life, informing every decision he made.
Footnotes ↓
[1] “Duane Richard Sjaardema.” n.d. FamilySearch. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/GMR1-V49/duane-richard-sjaardema-1931-2016.
[2] “U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016.” 1950. Ancestry. 1950. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/1265/records/364488429?tid=&pid=&queryId=d1505fc8-aea1-4600-ae3a-a6e6c2af9744&_phsrc=qKV358&_phstart=successSource.
[3] “1950 United States Federal Census.” 1950. Ancestry. 1950. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/62308/records/69697191?tid=&pid=&queryId=9d4518e2-99af-4370-bfca-676bf502ea32&_phsrc=qKV360&_phstart=successSource.
[4] Hickman, Kennedy. 2025. “The History of Containment Policy.” ThoughtCo. May 13, 2025. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-containment-2361022.
[5] “Sjaardema, Duane Richard, US, Korean War Era Draft Registration Cards, 1948-1959.” 1949. Fold3. July 22, 1949. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://www.fold3.com/file/731071238.
[6] “Korean War Veterans Memorial.” 2022. U.S. National Park Service. July 26, 2022. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/kowa/kowahome.htm.
[7] “U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016.” 1955. Ancestry. 1955. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/1265/records/285717000?tid=&pid=&queryId=de51f957-3cd2-4bab-b0e8-62435e7ca8fd&_phsrc=qKV449&_phstart=successSource.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Horan & McConaty Funeral Service and Cremation. 2023. “Violet Sjaardema Obituary 2023 - Horan & McConaty Funeral Service and Cremation.” In Horan & McConaty Funeral Service and Cremation. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://www.horancares.com/obituaries/violet-sjaardema.
[10] “U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.” 1971. Ancestry. 1971. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2469/records/1511391277.
[11] Nydam, Ron, and Jim Schlottman. 2009. “Guilt and Shame.” 2. Quiet Waters Compass. Bethesda Foundation, Inc. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://www.qwaters.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/QuietWaters-Compass-Oct-2009-Spirits-Tracks.pdf.
[12] VanderPloeg, Thomas. 2017. “With Every Fiber of My Being.” Logos Sermons. August 22, 2017. Accessed August 24, 2025. https://sermons.logos.com/sermons/199256-with-every-fiber-of-my-being.
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