Sidney H. Heersma, M.D.

HEERSMA, H. Sidney, M.D.
Kalamazoo, MI Dr. H. Sidney Heersma was born July 11, 1909 in Chicago, IL, the oldest of 5 children of Harry and Susie Boersma Heersma. He was a close companion in his early years of his brother Gerald. The Rev. Gerald Heersma passed away in 1975, and sister Teresa Mabel Giese passed away in 2000. Surviving siblings are Ruth Polk of Phoenix, AZ and Dr. James Dottie Heersma of Blue River, WI. Sidney attended public elementary schools in Chicago and Oak Lawn, IL and Englewood High School in Chicago by commuter train. He graduated from Hope College in 1930 and received his M.D. from Rush Medical College at the University of Chicago after 1 year of internship at the Evangelical Hospital in Chicago in 1935. After Residencies in Pediatrics at Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, he began private practice of Pediatrics in Kalamazoo on December 1, 1937. Sidney and Ellen Marie Westerveld were married on June 21, 1934, following his completion of Medical School. Ellen passed away in March, 2001. Ellen and Sidney had two children, Claudia Sue Schrock, who passed away in Kalamazoo in January, 2009, and James Sidney Heersma of Bloomington, IN, who survives. Surviving grandchildren are Claudia's 4 daughters, Elizabeth Ellen Kyle Farry, Frances Leigh Cliff Traisman, Cynthia Lynne Michael Seeley, and Abigail Schrock. Also surviving are 6 great-grandchidren, Colin and Eben Farry, and Quinn, Leo, Ellis and Nora Traisman. Dr. Heersma was a member and former Elder and Consistory Member of Bethany Reformed Church of Kalamazoo and had served as president and board member of the church's Friendship House, re-named Heersma-Schrock Friendship House in July, 2009, in his and Claudia's honor. He was active in many community activities while practicing as a Pediatrician in Kalamazoo for 60 years before retiring in January of 1998. He was a member of both Bronson and Borgess Hospital Medical Staffs, the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, the Michigan State Medical Society and member and past president of the Western Michigan Pediatric Society. Dr. Heersma had special interest in the Handicapped and was a member of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. He was Pediatrician for St. Agnes Foundling Home for 33 years; he served the Major Disease Clinic for over 30 years in the area of physically and mentally handicapped children. His last practice was at the MSU-Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies in an attention-deficit-disorder-hyperactivity clinic for children. He was honored for these and other community efforts and many board memberships and presidencies, such as the Child Guidance Clinic, County Mental Health board, Pine Rest Christian Counseling Center, McKercher Workshop and Crippled Children's Society and the Association for Retarded Citizens. The Bronson Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was named after him in 1978. In 1991, Dr. Heersma was honored by his alma mater Hope College with its Distinguished Alumni Award, and in 1996, he received the E. Earl Wright Community Achievement Award from the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. From January of 1997, his time was occupied with caring for the physical and mental disabilities of his wife until her passing. Dr. Heersma enjoyed sports in his earlier years, especially tennis and badminton. In January, 2002, he was an Olympic Torch-bearer. In his later years, he enjoyed playing bridge and fishing, and especially enjoyed meeting with former patients and parents whom he got to know in his 60 years of practice in Kalamazoo. Visitation will be held Thursday from 2-4 & 6-8pm at Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Memorial Chapel, 622 S. Burdick St. Services will be held 2:00 Friday afternoon at Bethany Reformed Church, 1833 S. Burdick St., with the Rev. Dr. Robert Terwilliger and the Rev. Don DeYoung, officiating. Private burial will be held in Mount Ever-Rest Memorial Park. Memorials should be directed to Bethany Reformed Church or Family and Children's Services of Kalamazoo. www.langelands.com 269-343-1508.