Jan passed away suddenly on this day.

He was a son, brother, husband, father, Opa, Papa, Great Opa, and Great-Great Opa.

Jan was born in Holland, and as a young boy his mother took him and his older sister Nellie to Indonesia where his dad was in the war.

They were taken as prisoners of war for a short time.

Then back to Holland where as he grew older, he started his career as a welder/fabricator working on ships.

Later he joined the Air Force and was with them for 10 years.

Jan met his wife to be, Magdalena, and they had two daughters, Marcella and Elisabeth.

Then his desire to leave Holland led them to Canada for a better life.

Within a short time, his first daughter passed on and two more children came, Marcella and James.

Jan spent his life working and building new dreams. He loved his work as it was also a creative outlet for him.

He built many beautiful steel railings for people, and there is a lovely set at the Railway Museum in Cranbrook.

Jan spent many years working on logging trucks and highway trucks with his son James.

After his wife Magdalena passed, he started a new hobby of beekeeping which he loved doing and did it right to the end.

He met Jean who became his friend and companion and they spent many happy years travelling to different places and visiting all the casinos which was a lot of fun for him.

His last years were spent living on the farm with his daughter and grandson and family.

He really enjoyed sitting on the couch with Jean watching the American news and looking out at the mountains, while watching hundreds of elk come through exclaiming “ they don’t see any of this in Holland” !

Jan was doing pretty good for his age, while dealing with some health problems.

We were even able to get him to do a complicated welding job on a piece of farm equipment while sitting on a bucket with a cushion.

He was a huge presence in all of our lives, was always quick to advise whether we wanted it or not. Always ready to lend a helping hand, loved adventure, and had a witty sense of humor.

He will be dearly missed.

Jan was predeceased by his mother, father, and eldest daughter Marcella.

He leaves behind his second daughter Elisabeth – son (Adam, Ramona, William, Zoey, Dax, Azaliah ). Daughter Marcella (Jay), (Jeffrey, Justina, Kenzo & Kaito ) (Mikayla, Sam, Sophia, Everleigh & Nora ) (Jen & Grace) (Jason, Connor, Annabella) Son – (James, Bobbie, Maddy, Jacobus , Daniel ).  Jean and JJ. He also leaves behind sisters in Ontario Nellie and family, Trudy and family, Mientje and family, Lynn and family. Plus many many friends.

A visitation for family and friends will be held from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm on Monday, June 30, 2025 at McPherson Funeral Home, Cranbrook, British Columbia.