Obituary of Evelyn Leslie Aardema

Evelyn Leslie Aardema (nee' Mohler) died on Wednesday October 12th after an eight-month battle with cancer. Born 1941 in Red Bluff, California, Evelyn was raised on a plum orchard with 7 brothers and sisters. She graduated from Red Bluff High School in 1959. In 1960 she married Tom Cecil with whom she had four children Jeff, Chuck, Wes, and Laura. They moved to Hanford California. There she met and, in 1972 married, Donald Aardema. They worked on a small farm and dairy outside of Lemore California where they raised their eight children. In 1980 they sold the farm in Lemore and moved to Jerome, Idaho, where they started Aardema Dairy. Together with their children Laura, Ronnie, Donnie and Mike they built the large, diversified agricultural firm the Aardema Group. Evelyn was involved with many community groups including the American Cancer Society. Always active, she was a competitive card player and golfer. Evelyn loved to travel, go to parties and winter in Palm Springs. She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Donald Aardema, her children Jeff Cecil, Chuck Cecil, Wes Cecil, Laura Fitzgerald, Ron Aardema, Don Aardema, Mike Aardema, and Patricia Beezhold; 26 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren; Her sisters Kathryn, Roberta, Joanna, Marjorie and brothers Earl, Paul, and Thomas. A gathering for family and friends will be held on Wednesday October 19, 2016 from 4-6 at the Blue Lakes Country Club.