Chester W Scheltema

    Chester Scheltema, aged 98, of Vista, CA, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Thursday, November 20, 2025. Chester was married to Majorie Scheltema for sixty-seven years, who passed away one year before him. Chester is the father of Rose Zellmer, Coral Wheeler, and Chet Scheltema, Jr. His daughters Karen Swan and Hope Scheltema preceded Chester. Chester and Marjorie have thirteen grandchildren and a growing number of great grandchildren. 
Chester was the eldest son of William and Elizabeth Scheltema of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and brother to four siblings, Hank, Bill, Betty Johnson, and Cookie Huyser. All preceded him.
Chester was born into rural Michigan during the Great Depression where he learned hard work early in life as a farm boy at a difficult time. He was soon torn away from the farm as a draftee into World War II, where he served in the US Army until honorably discharged at war’s end. He is now buried at Miramar National Cemetery in La Jolla, California.
    After the War, Chester spent time as a civilian contractor with the US Airforce in Alaska, then pursued training as an aircraft pilot and mechanic, and finally study to become a missionary and pastor. Chester would also become a life-long traveler and adventurer, and it’s at this point he began exploring, including by piloting aircraft on cross country flights in the US. 
Chester soon met the love of his life, Marjorie, also of Grand Rapids, Michigan. They were married and remained so for 67 years. Their daughters Karen, Rose, and Coral were born in Michigan shortly thereafter. Hope and Chester Jr would be born years later in California.
    Chester and Marjorie were committed Christ followers, and they launched their careers as missionaries in present day Suriname in South America. Upon later return to the US, the Scheltema family began an extended road trip towing a camper trailer, well before such was fashionable, eventually stumbling across a quiet, rural area of Southern California now known as North San Diego County. They spent the next forty years there buying properties, building homes, establishing a church, and serving in a variety of Christian ministries. Chester had an entrepreneurial spirit and a vision for building, and he and Marjorie made numerous acquisitions of land in then-sparsely populated places like Vista and San Marcos, and Chester single handedly built nearly a dozen homes. 
    As the Vietnam War raged and the ranks of Camp Pendleton swelled, Chester began serving enthusiastically as a counselor and evangelist to US Marines, and as the director at the Oceanside Service Men’s Center. He continued in that role for many years, touching the lives of young men in and out of the military. Along with Marjorie, Chester was also an active member of Emmanuel Faith Community Church in Escondido. 
    Chester was always a great admirer of God’s natural creation, and he and his family explored the western US and Canada widely by road, hiking many trails in places of rugged beauty like the Canadian Rockies, California Sierra Nevada, and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. 
    Chester was a faithful, generous husband and father, an evangelist and church planter, devoted student of God’s word, mentor to young men and soldiers, traveler and adventurer, and a property developer and builder. Most importantly, he was a deeply committed follower of Jesus Christ. Quite literally to his last breaths, he sang about his Savior’s great love and gift of forgiveness of sins. 

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