Johannes van Rossum

March 10, 1936 – June 16, 2021

Joe passed away peacefully on June 16 surrounded by his family.

Joe was predeceased by his parents Thale and Grietje (nee-Hilbolling), his two sisters Hendrika (Ron) and Zwaantje (Willem) and nephews Thale Kwant and Roulof (Ida) Kwant. Joe is survived by his 2 sons John (Jeff) and Greg (Julia), his grandchildren Isabel and Alexandra, niece Rita (Ed) Fransen-Morris and nephew Roy Fransen.

Joe was born on March 10, 1936 in the community of Anloo – Netherlands and was the youngest of 3 children. The family was fortunate to survive WWII while residing in the Netherlands and Joe was 8 when the war ended. The family immigrated to Canada on May 03, 1954 and eventually settled in Merritt. Joe’s oldest sister, Zwaantje married 2 ½ weeks earlier and remained in the Netherlands to start a family of her own. Although the family had aspirations of farming, both Joe and his father found long careers in the forestry and lumber industry, mainly working in local sawmills. Joe became a lumber grader and worked until he suffered a life changing heart attack in his 50’s.

The family lived next door to Rob and Wanda Gush, who raised 7 children and both families bonded, shared their lives together, and built relationships that still remain strong through generations. On May 25, 1962 Joe married Jill Varney, built a home and raised a family. Joe and Jill parted ways in 2001. Joe married 2 more times and later spent the last several years as a single man in Merritt.

As a young man in Holland, Joe had a passion for soccer and loved to fish and garden. While raising a family, Joe successfully coached youth soccer for a number of years. Camping became a part of life and the family spent most weekends along the shorelines of the local lakes. Lundbom Lake was a family favorite. Joe later found a love for curling and golf and he enjoyed both sports until he physically couldn’t. He was fortunate enough to experience 3 ‘hole in ones’. Joe also enjoyed watching sports and mostly watching his grandchildren take part in sporting, musical and school activities.

The family would like to thank the staff at Nicola Meadows who tirelessly gave Joe the support he required while he resided there. We would also like to thank the medical professionals in Merritt and the staff at the Nicola Valley Hospital and Health Centre.

A celebration of Joe’s life will be scheduled at a later date and be held at the Crossroads Community Church. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Nicola Valley Health Care Auxiliary.

Eulogy:

Joe was born on March 10, 1936 in the community of Anloo, Netherlands. His parents were Thale van Rossum and Greitje Hilbolling. Thale was born on January 12, 1905, Greitje on July 31, 1907. Thale moved to Anloo where he met Greitje. They married on May 10, 1930. Thale and Greitje had 3 children and Joe was the youngest. He had 2 sisters Zwaantje 1931 and Hendrika 1933.

The name Johannes has been passed down in the van Rossum family lineage for hundreds of years and Thale and Greitje named him after Thale’s father and is derived from the Ancient Greek Iaonnes and in turn is the form of a Hebrew name Yochanan which means ‘Graced by Yahweh, God is Gracious’.

While growing up in Holland, Joe loved the game of soccer and enjoyed fishing.

The family was fortunate to survive WWII and Joe was 8 when the war ended. During and following WWII, extensive emigration to North America occurred. Approximately 20000 Dutch immigrants arrived in Canada each year in the early 1950’s.

1954 was life changing for the van Rossum family.

The eldest sister married and 2 ½ weeks later the family emigrated to Canada. Life in Holland must have been very difficult to leave a daughter behind and go to another country to make a new life.

The family boarded a ship in Rotterdam and 3 days later arrived in Dorval. Joe was 18 years old. Most of believe that at the age of 18 life is just beginning, Joe had already survived WWII and travelled across the Atlantic on a ship.

Joe’s father Thale loved to garden and the family had aspirations of vegetable farming and were very keen on making a home in Fraser Valley. They made their way West (rail) and stopped in the Nicola Valley. Work was abundant at that time. They worked for a short time for Guichon Ranch at the original homestead location. Soon they moved into Merritt where both Joe and his father found long careers in the lumber industry working in local sawmills. For the most part Joe worked at what was at that time was called Nicola Valley Sawmills, which later changed hands to Balco and then Tolko Industries and remained as such until its closure in 2016.

The family purchased a home at 1963 Coutlee avenue in Merritt. Rob and Wanda Gush lived next door and were raising a family. The two families became very close and everyone affectionately referred to Joe’s parents as Oma and Opa. Thale grew a very large vegetable garden every year and built a root cellar underground to store vegetables for the winter months. One of our annual spring childhood chores was to dig and turn the soil in the garden to prepare for the next rotation. The family felt very welcome in Merritt and soon realized that there a Dutch presence that already existed.

On July 9, 1955 Joe’s sister Rika married Ron Fransen. They resided in Merritt and raised 2 children - Rita and Roy. Sadly Rika passed away in 1973 at the age of 39.

Joe married Jill Varney on May 25, 1962 and built a home at 2226 Merritt Avenue which was a new neighborhood in Merritt home was around the corner from the home Rob and Wanda Gush built. At that time you could walk in a straight line between the homes as there were very little houses built.

Joe and Jill had 2 children. John Thale in 1963 and myself in 1965. John was named after both his father and grandfather.

During the summer months the families camped together at some of the local lakes. Stump and Lundbom lakes were favorites. At that time camping was permitted at the south end of the Stump lake and there was a beautiful sandy beach. Camping to my father was synonymous to fishing and relaxing. At that time Rob never had a drivers license and my father would transport everyone and their gear to the lake and then back home again. This was never something thought of as a burden but as a means of getting everyone together. When Joe was on afternoon shift he would bring all of the camping gear and the family to the lake during the day, return to town and then return later that night for the weekend. Wanda and Rob became the God Parents of my brother John and I always referred to them as my second parents.

In the fall, Joe enjoyed to hunt. He and his father and Rob hunted together on a number of occasions, n the winter months Joe and Jill loved to bowl. I remember both my brother and I bowling for a number of years. They later took up curling as a winter sport and Joe curled until he physically could not.

On a typical Friday or Saturday evening Joe and Jill could be found at either their kitchen table or at the Gush home playing Cannasta.

As a young child, following in my fathers footsteps I too developed a love for fishing, camping and hunting. Really wasn’t the best gardener though.

I also loved to play sports. Dad coached my soccer team for a number of years. At that time there was only 1 team per age group in Merritt and we played teams predominantly from Kamloops. A number of Merritt soccer teams were very competitive and successful. One year our team took 3rd place in a provincial tournament. My mother and father took care of the team, supplied the oranges, water and transportation with the help of other parents. They were always willing to support us in whatever we decided to do.

Joe often could be found at his parents place in the mornings for coffee when he wasn’t working. He loved to drop in for coffee and socialize. I have fond memories sitting around the kitchen table having conversations. Most were in broken Dutch / English.

Joe also loved to watch hockey, for years he attended most of the Merritt Centennials home games and at one time was very good friends with one of the Coaches. Joe even went on some of the road trips to help out for a couple of seasons. As a child I used to love to go to the games with my father. Although I enjoyed the sport, I think it was more about spending time with Dad.

He was a very loyal and dedicated employee and was always at work early and more than happy to put in extra time where required. He loved to participate in the company social events. Mostly he loved the annual fishing derby. When I was a young man my father won a belt buckle with a pheasant on it. I always wanted that belt buckle and thought it was amazing as a young man. I am honoring my father today by wearing his belt buckle, his watch, ring and have his pocket watch with me and will continue to cherish these items through life.

My love for fishing gave us a bond to spend countless hours in the boat. He taught me how to cast a fly, tie knots, operate a boat, clean fish and to have the patience for fishing. He encouraged me to learn how to tie flies, which from time to time I still do. He obviously taught me much more about life in general. When I was 14 he let me drive the pick up after a morning of fishing at Marquart Lake. He had a 1964 International pick up with no power steering or brakes. It was not my most shining moment, but it sure gave my father something to laugh about. I remember fishing in lakes that no longer have public access. Corbett Lake was one of our favorites. I also recall fishing at Garcia Lake when the Collett family owned the surrounding land. Dad would call for permission to fish there. Later in life, Dad and I took a couple of trips to the island catching Salmon and Halibut. He was always happy to come for a drive to look for a deer or a moose and really loved the times when he, Rob and I would go out.

In 1975 Joe and Jill moved the family to a larger home on first avenue. Joe found a love for the game of golf. He lived close enough to walk to the course. For years Joe could be found walking the course in the early hours finding lost golf balls that he later started to sell \back to the course. They had a black spaniel at that time and the two of them would spend most mornings walking the tall grass and waterways on the course.

My grandparents left their home on Coutlee avenue and moved across the road into a senior housing complex – Ainsley Court. They put their home up for sale and it did not sell for a long time due to a soft housing market. In his early 50’s my father was weeding his parents garden and suffered a life changing heart attack. He never returned to his job at the sawmill.

I sometimes referred to my father as a cat, as it seemed he had many lives. Or should I say avoided the alternative. Following his heart attack, a large aneurism was identified on his renal artery at the base of his spine. He received very invasive surgery to successfully remove it. He was also later diagnosed with prostate cancer which was successfully treated. Had a pace maker and later a defibrillator that saved him on more than one occasion. His eyesight deteriorated significantly and he experienced issues with detached retinas and had to complete driving examinations in order to maintain a drivers license. When he was 84 his license was revoked until he could prove that he was still able to drive safely. He did so and retained it. The ability to drive gave Joe his freedom and ability to visit others after all he was a very social person.

Joe and Jill became members of the Full Gospel Tabernacle (now the crossroads community church) and Joe continued to attend service in the community he lived in and followed his belief until the day he passed.

On August 27, 2000 Joe became a grandfather to Isabel and again January 09, 2004 to Alexandra. Our family then referred to him as Opa.

In 2001 Joe and Jill parted ways. Joe married 2 more times. His third marriage was to Jeannette Ardern from Kamloops. Joe and Jeannette although separated were still married when Joe passed. Joe and Jeannette resided in Kamloops during this time where he joined the pineridge golf club. He was fortunate to experience 3 hole in ones.

He would travel to Merritt to curl in the winter months as he enjoyed visiting his family and the social gatherings that curling offered.

Joe loved it when a puzzle was set up. He often completed the puzzles before his grand daughters came home after school. Alexandra also loves to do puzzles and caught on to this. She recently explained that she had the more difficult parts waiting for Opa when he came to stay then she could finish puzzles herself later on.

Joe also did a bit of travelling later in life. Travelling to Peru and taking a tour of Machu Pichu was a highlight. He also travelled to Holland and England to visit family and friends.

Approximately 4 years ago Joe moved back to Merritt. He still made weekly summer trips to Kamloops for golf. He golfed and curled until he was not physically able to do so. He moved into Nicola Meadows about a year ago and really enjoyed the social aspect and resided there until he passed. Joe continued to enjoy sports, mostly by watching his Grandchildren play soccer, basketball, volleyball.

Joe had hip replacement surgery in April of 2021 and never fully recovered.

Predeceased by his parents Thale and Grietje his two sisters Rika and Zwaantje and nephews Thale and Roulof Kwant.

Joe passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. Ironically he was only steps away from where his father passed away some about 35 years prior.

Growing up, we look up to and rely on our parents for guidance through life. The changes through life are often shared by many through their own experiences but you never really understand until you live them. My father was fortunate to live past his 85th birthday, raise children that have had successful lives (well so far). Experience the joys of Grandchildren and deal with the challenges that life throws at you.

I travel a lot for work, mostly highway travel to different work sites. The other day as I was travelling to the work site at Sun Peaks, I happened to hear the song ‘I did it my way’ by Frank Sinatra. It brought a tear to my eye as I thought of my father.

I like to think that my father lived the life he wanted to and passed as a happy man that was able to experience all that life had to offer or rather what he was willing to take on. One thing is for sure, he did things his way.

A couple of things that you may not know about my father

Favorite Musician – Andre Rieu (professional that is) I believe his favorite musicians are Isabel and Alexandra.

Favorite Movie – Sound of Music

All time most used sayings – Well, I think I will go home and relax. This always made us laugh, because he was usually just sitting and relaxing in conversation when he said it.

Now you can relax.