Theodoor Brinkman, known as Ted, was born Aug. 26, 1929 to Hendrik and Wilhelmina Brinkman in The Hague, The Netherlands, and was the youngest of nine children. He grew up in Holland during the years of World War II. He attended various schools and became an engineering draftsman.

Ted went to be with the Lord on June 22, 2009 at Whidbey General Hospital in Coupeville after a sudden heart attack.

He accepted the Lord as his Savior in 1956 and came to the United States in 1957 to attend Bethel Temple Bible School, where he met Naomi Earlywine. They were married in 1958 and recently celebrated 51 wonderful years of marriage.

After graduating from Bible school, he entered full-time Christian ministry and was the pastor of churches in Odessa, Faith Pentecostal Mission on French Road in Clinton, and planted a church in Oak Harbor. During his time at Faith Mission, he also worked for the Whidbey Telephone Company.

In 1970, he was asked to return to Holland, along with his wife and two sons, to work with Dutch Indonesian people, and was the pastor of a church in Ede, The Netherlands for four years. While in Holland, he met a Catholic nun of the Carmelite Order and at her invitation conducted services and Bible studies in a number of Catholic convents. Two more sons were born to the Brinkmans during those Holland years.

The family returned to the U.S. in 1974 and he took the pastorate of a church in Plummer, Idaho. Ted stepped down from full-time ministry in 1981 because of health problems, and came back to Whidbey Island, where he was once again employed by the Whidbey Telephone Company until his retirement in 2000.

Ted was a member of South Whidbey Assembly of God and was involved in many aspects of ministry over the years.

He loved to go on mission trips, and journeyed to Honduras, Mexico and Uganda. While on the trip to Uganda, he learned of the need for teachers in the Bible college in Seguku, Uganda and returned there in 2004 to teach in Jesu Akwagala Bible College for six months. His strong desire was to return there, but multiple health problems prevented that.

Ted took up the hobby of woodcarving around 1985 and found much enjoyment in creating wonderful, intricate carvings.

Ted loved his Lord, his wife, four sons and 12 grandchildren with all his heart. His greatest pleasure and enjoyment was to be with his family.

He is survived by his wife, Naomi, sons Steve, grandchildren Cathryn, Jared, who is serving with the military in Afghanistan, and Chad; Mark and his wife Leslie, grandchildren Lindsay, Nathan and Joel, Ted Jr. and his wife Shoshanna, grandchildren Gabrielle, Joshua, Kaleb and Isaak; and Ben and his wife Katie, grandchildren Cara and Faith. He is also survived by one brother and three sisters in the Netherlands, many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and four brothers.

He was much loved and will be greatly missed by all those whose lives he touched.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 27 at Bayview Cemetery followed by a noon memorial service at South Whidbey Assembly of God, 5373 Maxwelton Road.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ted Brinkman Memorial Fund at Whidbey Island Bank, which will be used as a scholarship fund for students to Jesu Akwagala Bible College in Seguku, Uganda.