Treesa Boerema

Treesa Kort Boerema, age 100, died October 25, 2026, at Round Lake Beach, Illinois, after a long life centered on faith, family, music, and service to others.

Treesa was born February 11, 1926, in Oak Lawn, Illinois, to Dick and Anna Kort. She was one of six children: Henry, Henrietta, Edith, Treesa, Christine, and Charles. She grew up in Oak Lawn, Illinois, where the Kort family lived on farms first near 91st Street and Cicero Avenue, then near 87th Street and Ridgeland Avenue. The Depression, the close-knit Dutch-American community in which the family lived, and especially her parents' Christian faith shaped her childhood and youth.

Treesa left school after the eighth grade, although she would have liked to continue her education. As a young woman, she worked as a nanny for the McGuire family in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, making the long bus trip from Oak Lawn and earning $1.50 a week.

Music had been part of Treesa's life since childhood. She studied piano for six years; during the Depression, payment for some of those lessons came in the form of produce grown on the family farm. She became an accomplished pianist and organist and, for many years, shared that gift in the churches to which she belonged, serving as accompanist and organist at Oak Lawn Christian Reformed Church and Immanuel Christian Reformed Church in Burbank, as well as playing for other churches when needed. Her love of classical and sacred music became part of her family life. Handel's Messiah held a special place for her, and trips to hear it performed at Orchestra Hall in Chicago became a family tradition.

Following World War II, Treesa married Christian "Chris" Boerema. They honeymooned at Niagara Falls and began married life in Oak Lawn, eventually making their home at 7100 West 94th Street. Together they raised five children: Albert, Rich, Hank, Anna, and Christina. Their home became the center of a growing family of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Treesa expressed love most naturally through the ordinary practices of daily life. She cooked and baked for family and guests, welcomed people into her home, and served others with her hands. Among other things, she knitted mittens and hats for children who needed them. Family members remember a comfortable, welcoming home and a mother and grandmother who took pleasure in caring for people.

Christian faith was central to Treesa's life. She inherited a strong Reformed faith from her parents and remained deeply committed to Scripture, prayer, worship, and the church throughout her life. Christian radio, including WMBI, Bible conferences at Winona Lake, and Moody Bible Institute ministries, were important influences. Her Bible was well used, and prayer was a daily practice. Well into old age, she prayed regularly, by name, for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Treesa and Chris shared their life together until his death in 2000. After his death, she moved first to a condominium in Orland Park and eventually to senior living communities, first Victorian Village in Homer Glen and later Oak Hill in Round Lake Beach, Illinois. She also knew the sorrow of the death of their son Rich from colon cancer in 2010.

As Treesa grew older, the faith that had accompanied her throughout her life remained central. She looked toward death with the Christian hope that had sustained her for a century. Even near the end of her life, when illness and medication made conversation difficult, the language of faith remained deeply embedded in her. On one occasion she awakened and announced joyfully, "Happy Easter—the Lord is risen." It was characteristic of a woman for whom the story of Christian faith had become part of the fabric of life.

Treesa is survived by Albert and Marjorie Boerema, Jean Boerema, wife of late son Rich, Hank Boerema, Anna and Brian Stavlo, Christina and Damon Achziger, fourteen grandchildren, and nineteen great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Christian Boerema; her son, Rich Boerema; her parents, Dick and Anna Kort; and her sisters and brothers, Henrietta De Wilde, Edith Koopman, Henry Kort, Christine Huizinga, Charles Kort, and grandchildren Phil Boerema and Rachel Van Vuren.

In February 2026, Treesa's family and friends gathered to celebrate her 100th birthday and the remarkable gift of her long life. We are grateful that we did not have to wait until her death to remember her, tell stories, give thanks, and celebrate the life we had shared with her. Treesa was there among us, surrounded by people who loved her, and she knew that we had come to celebrate her. For that, we are deeply grateful. 

A private graveside service will be held for the family.