Born on November 12, 1937 in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands to Johannes and Anna Aartman.

   He passed away peacefully of natural causes, surrounded by the love of family and friends, on May 16, 2023 in Modesto, CA

   He is survived by his loving wife, Christa Aartman. children; John and Aimee Aartman, Jim and Kelly Aartman, Tom Aartman, Annette Aartman, and Zane Thomas along with 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. He was one of 15 children and is survived by two brothers in Holland.  Jim Sr. was the first in his family to migrate to the United States in 1956 at the age of 18.  He first came to Lodi, CA and began milking cows for the Warmerdam family. The care and support they showed helped him to move to Sacramento and start his own business, a home delivery milk route.  In 1965, he sold that business and moved to Manteca, where he went to work for the De Groot family at Jersey Crown Dairy, delivering milk to homes. In 1969 he traded his home delivery route for a truck and a milk tanker hauling fluid milk from the dairies to the processing plants.  His son Jim Jr.  joined him in the business in 1983 with a second truck and together they built a company with over 650 trucks. He continued working in the milk business his entire career. When Jim Sr. and Jim Jr. sold their Company in 2007 Jim Sr. decided to retire. He and Christa enjoyed frequent trips to Holland to visit family, many trips to the Caribbean to relax and just traveling the world together.

   He was always there for family and friends, in good times and bad. He especially enjoyed family gatherings and time with the little ones.  Aside from his famous daily walks around Ripon, he also enjoyed a round of golf at Spring Creek Country Club. He and his buddies determined their scores not by strokes, but by speed of play.  A good round would wrap up in under 3 hours.

In his long and amazing life, he has touched and helped many people. His kind and gentle spirit will be missed.

   There will be a private service for the family and a celebration of life on June 3rd for details about that please email: rememberingjimsr<\@>gmail.

com

Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin

Saturday, May 27, 2023