Bert Jellesma was born in Holland about 1885. After serving in the Dutch Army for a time, he immigrated to Canada, where he took up a homestead in the Twin River district about 1912.

In 1928 he married Ida Grubach, who emigrated from Sindal, Denmark, the previous year. They had a three quarter section grain farm, which they enjoyed farming. Through the years their farm prospered.

Ida had a green thumb, when it came to gardening. She produced many lovely gardens. Today (1980) the trees which Jellesmas planted around their farmstead still stand.

Ida and Bert had no family of their own, but became foster parents to Richard Sonnenberg about 1934. He was approximately four years old at that time. Dick attended school at Twin River and later attended school at Del Bonita when the schools were centralized. Dick passed away from an unfortunate accident in 1971.