Charles Bradley Tolsma Obituary

Our brother, Charles "Chuck" Bradley Tolsma, saw the face of Jesus Christ when he left his earthly body to join other saints in their heavenly home on March 5, 2026. We are confident there was a joyous reunion with our parents, Chuck and Betty Tolsma, grandparents Ralph and Mae Bradley, and Cornelius and Agnes Tolsma. Joining in that celebration was his great-nephew James Lauderdale.

Our parents lovingly anticipated their first little one who finally arrived in El Paso, Texas; following his arrival, his siblings arrived in close succession – sisters Jaan and Carey, and brother Andy bringing up the rear. Our family travelled all over as Air Force brats. We ended up living in Ft. Worth, TX, at the end and made Texas home. Chuck graduated from Arlington Heights High School there and then graduated from Texas Tech University.

Following his graduation from TTU, Chuck worked for many years in manufacturing at Texas Instruments in Dallas. He managed and supervised multiple diverse teams. He was also appointed to improve the use of Minority and Women-owned Enterprises, resulting in team recognition by TI's CEO.

Chuck's retirement allowed him to pursue many, many interests including all the sportsing anyone could manage to pay attention to. His favorite teams were his beloved TTU Red Raiders and Texas Rangers. He also adored watching cars go in circles at Texas Motor Speedway and all things NASCAR, where the cars only turn left. He had an enormously heavy collection of books, mostly genres in history, military superiority, and aviation. He even enjoyed eating his lunch while he watched live air traffic or daring acts of aviation on YouTube. Lastly, he had a wonderful time travelling, many times with our sister, Jaan. Hawaii was a favorite destination and he visited the islands 5 times and learned to surf.

Chuck enjoyed his time volunteering as a media specialist at his church, Messiah Lutheran Plano. He loved figuring out tech aspects of the job and assisting in that capacity during worship services. He is already greatly missed by his church family as he was an integral part of this ministry.

Our brother will be missed by so many people he fiercely loved including sister Jaan Tolsma, Carey Tolsma Ray and husband, Jeff, and brother Andy and wife Kristin Haberman Tolsma. Nieces and nephews joining in our loss are Peyton Ray Lauderdale and husband Justin, Maggie Ray, and Jamie Ray and wife Sarah Beth Wood Ray; Dillon Tolsma, Ali Tolsma, and Claire Tolsma; great nieces and nephews this side of heaven are Olivia and Maren Lauderdale, and Henry and Betty Ray. We would be remiss not mention special cousins Joe Bradley and Ann Moser.

Chuck's celebration of life will be held at Messiah Lutheran Church Plano on Thursday, March 12, at 10:00 a.m. Private internment will be in Iredell, TX. In lieu of flowers, we ask memorials be made in Chuck's memory to Messiah Lutheran Church.

"I want to serve Jesus."