Schuurmann, John F. (1903-1977) | Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

From his birth to his retirement, John F. Schuurmann's life was lived in parsonages.  He was born in Campen, Germany, where his father was a minister in the Altgereformierte Kirche.  Nine years later, in 1912, the family moved to Emden, Minnesota, where his father became the pastor of the Emden Christian Reformed Church.

John's education included studies in Grundy College, Grundy Center, Iowa; Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan; and a year of post-graduate work at Princeton Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

From parsonages of churches served by his father, John F. Schuurmann moved into parsonages where he served as pastor: Lincoln Center, Iowa (1931-1940); Wyoming Park, Michigan (1940-1944); Second Lynden, Washington (1944-1951); Fourteenth Street, Holland, Michigan (1951-1956); Moline, Michigan (1956-1964); and Ferrysburg, Michigan (1964-1969).  When he retired, he served as Assistant Librarian in the Theological section of the Calvin College and Seminary Library.  His interest in and knowledge of theological books served him well.  After an illness of several months, he passed away on August 13, 1977. He was survived by his wife, Marguerite née Broersma, and 3 children.

John Schuurmann served the denomination in his writing for the meditation booklets of the Back to God Hour, in his activities at Synods, and in serving on denominational committees.

Our collection includes sermons which are in outline form.  It will be observed that John read widely and well, for his sermon collection includes material from magazines and books used as background material and studies for preaching the Word of God.  There are also notes on a variety of subjects with added pertinent material.