Memories of deceased siblings

Memories of my brothers George (1976), John (2013), John J (2014), and Wilco (2015), my sister-in-law Sophie (2015), my brother-in-law Herman (2016), my sister Bertha (2021), and my brother-in-law Peter (2023).

My brother George (named Gerrit Willem at birth) died on 5 August 1976, age 42. I have collected as many pictures of him as I could and have uploaded them to an album on this website. Click on George Vanden Born photos or on the image to view the photos.

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My brother John (named Jan at birth) died on 24 June 2013, age 74. I have collected as many pictures of him as I could and have uploaded them to an album on Google Photos. Click on John Vandenborn photos 2013 or on the image to view the photos.

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My brother John J (named Johannes Jacobus, after my father, and later in life also known as John) died on 9 March 2014, age 76. I have done the same thing for him, and collected as many pictures as I could. Click on John J Vandenborn photos 2014 or on the image to see the photos. Click here to read the eulogy presented by brother Jack. In 2014, a John Vandenborn Memorial Scholarship Program was set up for Grade 12 students who live in the Belmead community and wish to pursue post-secondary education.

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My youngest brother Wilco (also known as Wil, and named Herman Wilco at birth), died on 17 April 2015, age 67. I have done the same thing for him, and collected as many pictures as I could. Click on Wilco VandenBorn photos 2015 or on the image to see the photos.
On 2 October 2015 the Edmonton Society for Christian Education dedicated a bench in honour of Wilco’s many years of service to the society. Click here for a photograph of the event (from the school website).

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My sister-in-law Sophie Vandenborn, née Dobranski, widow of my brother John, died on 4 October 2015, two days after her 75th birthday. Click here or on the image to see her obituary as it appeared in the Edmonton Journal.

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My brother-in-law Herman Wierenga died on 17 June 2016, age 63, in Indonesia. He was buried there, and a memorial service for him took place in Edmonton two weeks later. Click here or on the image to see a collection of photos from his life.

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My sister Bertha (named Gijsbertha at birth) died suddenly and unexpectedly on 3 September 2021, age 90. Click here or on the image to see a collection of photos from her life.
Click on the red links for Bertha’s newspaper obituary, for her story on the bulletin for her memorial service on 10 September, or for the brief eulogy I presented at the service. An additional piece, written by Louisa Bruinsma, describes and illustrates Bertha’s volunteer services in an English Language program for immigrants.

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My brother-in-law Peter Wierenga died on 20 January 2023, age 77, in Adelaide, Australia, where he had lived since 1974. Click here or on the image to see a collection of photos from his life. Some additional photos from his family can be seen here.
During the memorial service on 9 February, a recording of which may still be available, niece Karen read a eulogy prepared by Anne, and sister Jean offered her memories of Peter. Todd read words written by Lauren and presented memories of his own. A neighbour-friend wrote a poem in Peter’s honour. Click on the red links to access these documents.

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