Elizabeth "Betty" Van Hezewyk

Passed away peacefully on November 17,2024 at the age of 89, surrounded by the love and comfort of her children. Predeceased in 2016 by Gerry, her beloved husband of 59 years, she was the proud mother of Jane (Don Campbell), John, Mary (Peter Menzies), Marg (Mark Lacy), Gerry (Cecilia Latorre), and Peter (Jennifer). She will be remembered with love and affection by her grandchildren Donnie (Kait), Elizabeth (Sean), Mhairi (Steve) and Catherine (John) Campbell; Jordan and Justin van Hezewyk; Michael (Kate) and Joseph (Brooke) Menzies; Sean, Liam and Kathleen Lacy; Elise and Claire van Hezewyk; Noah (Hope), Simon and Grace van Hezewyk; and as Special Oma to Maite and Javier G. Latorre. She was delighted to be Great Oma to William, Russell, Charlie, Isla and Luca.

Predeceased by her parents Wilhelmus and Hendrika Vonk as well as her siblings Piet, Mies, Trudy, Wilhemina, Anne, Ria, Nelly and Theo, she is survived by her twin sister Dinie Vanderwerf, and younger sisters Toni van Hezewyk and Joanne Barnes. “Tante Bets” will be remembered by her surviving sisters-in-law Juanita Vonk, Corrie Meeulensteen, Ann Winkel, Mary Hansen, Rolande van Hezewijk, Cathy van Hezewijk, Mary van Hezewyk, Patricia van Hezewyk, and her many nieces and nephews.

At the age of 15, Betty’s family immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands. She immediately found work as a dietary aid and then office clerk at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto’s west end. Betty honed her English skills and by the age of 18 moved into the retail sector where she leveraged her organizational talents and “take charge” manner to quickly rise to Housewares Department Coordinator at the S.S. Kresge store on Queen Street. She met Gerry in 1955 when he and his brother John paid a visit to her parents. As the family legend goes, Gerry caught sight of Betty on her way to volunteer with a local Scout troop and whistled at her to show his appreciation of her Scout Leader uniform. She said she didn’t care for the whistle, but she liked the fact he had a car. They married in 1956 and Gerry spent the next 59 years driving Betty wherever she wanted to go.

Like many women of her generation, Betty left her employment after marrying Gerry to focus on raising their children. Although “retired” from paid employment, Betty’s resilience, tenacity, strong sense of self and sheer stubbornness contributed to her success as a community organizer. She spent more than fifty years volunteering for several Durham organizations including the Pickering Boy Scouts, Brougham Library, Durham Right to Life Association, Pine Ridge Cable TV, and the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in

Oshawa. In 1987 she recruited volunteers from St. John the Evangelist Parish in Whitby to establish The Rose of Durham, a counselling and support agency for young parents. In 1996 she was honoured to receive the Pope John Paul II Medal for Volunteer Service.

In her retirement, Betty travelled extensively with Gerry, their children and grandchildren, read a few books from the romance genre, and played countless hands of cards as well as Rumikub with family and friends. Our family’s Sunday brunches were never complete without a serving of Oma’s meatball soup.

Rest easy, Mom. There’s nothing left to organize. We’ve got it from here.

Betty’s family extend their sincere appreciation to the staff at 2 East and 2 North, Lakeridge Health Ajax-Pickering for the kindness and care extended to Betty and her family during her recent hospitalization. We would also like to thank all the staff at Amica Whitby for their caring support of “Betty the Boss” over these past six years.

Visitation will be held at OSHAWA FUNERAL HOME 847 King Street West, on Tuesday November 19, 2024 from 6pm to 8pm. A funeral mass will be held on Wednesday November 20, 2024 at 10:30 am at St. John The Evangelist Parish, 903 Giffard St, Whitby. Interment to follow at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, Whitby.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Rose of Durham (via Catholic Family Services) https://www.cfsdurham.com or The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul https://ssvp.ca/donate.