Aug. 21, 1923 - Feb. 4th, 2007
Dad was born in Julianadorp, Holland, the fourth of 12 children. He grew up on the dairy farm learning all of the farming skills of the time.
In his early adulthood, he left the province of North Holland to work as a conservation officer in the province of Limburg. There he met Mom, who was working at the same castle that he was employed with. They married in 1950. The two oldest children, Nick and Anna were born there. In, 1953, the families immigrated to Canada, flying by KLM to Montreal and traveling from there by train to Agassiz. They were met by Dad’s brother, Dick Gouwenberg and his family.
After a few years of working on road construction at rock quarries and logging, Dad bought the present farm on Kamp Road in 1957. By then, Henry and Mary had joined the family.
Dad worked very hard to clear the farm, drain the land and build the herd. The farm was a family affair and we all helped.
Mom (Anastasia) passed away suddenly in 1985 and shortly after that, Dad married Maria. They were married for sixteen years before Maria’s passing in 2002.
Dad enjoyed his family, his farming, hunting, trapping, fishing, beekeeping, woodworking and gardening. He took many trips with Maria to Anaheim Lake to camp and fish. Dad took great comfort in his Catholic faith. We will miss him very much.
Dad is survived by his children, Nick, Anna (Bill) Keyes, Henry (Anna) Gouwenberg, Mary (Robin) Reimer, stepchildren, Helena Tetteroo, Mary Ann (Harry) Folkerts, Joanne (Jim) Davidson, Anita (Jake) Kobes, grandchildren, Christina (Brad) Ongaro, Tammi (Shane) Bowles, Kate (Jonathan) Wouda, Gerard, Peter, Stacia, Coral, Lucy, Samuel, Hannah, Noami, and Christine Gouwenberg, step grandchildren, Daryl and Theresa Goodwin, Jake (Karri) Folkerts, Andrea(Brent) Eisen, Sean (Becky) Folkerts, Michael Folkerts, Scott (Joylynn) Davidson, Eric and Matthew Davidson, Ashley and Lyle Kobes, great-grandchildren, Jami and Julia Ongaro, Taylor Bowles, step great-grandchildren, Jazmine Goodwin, Josh, Emily, Joey, Raegan, and Hayley Folkerts, Dylan, Breanna and Alyssa Eisen, Taya, Issac and Caleb Folkerts, Laurynn and Taylor Davidson, brothers and sisters, Annie van de Berg, Dick (Ria) Gouwenberg, Stien Gouwenberg, let de Jong, Nico (Nel) Gouwenberg, Tini (Koop) van der Voort, Lida (Piet) Bosch, sister-in-law Annie Gouwenberg.
Dad was predeceased by his wives, Anastasia Gouwenberg and Maria Gouwenberg, stepson, Peter Tetteroo, step-granddaughter, Stephanie Davidson and step-grandson, Seth Folkerts. He was also predeceased by his brothers and sisters, Jaap Gouwenberg, Corry Gouwenberg, Jan Gouwenberg and Joop de Wit.
Mass of Christian burial was held on Thursday, February 5th, 2007, at St. Anthony’s Church, Agassiz, B.C.