Cornelis Ouwendyk

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Cornelis Ouwendyk

After having had his loving family surround him for his 90th birthday, Cornelis passed away peacefully on September 1, 2022.
He was the devoted husband of Mary for 62 wonderful years and the proud father of Jacqueline (Darren) and Sandra (Michael). He was also the cherished Opa of April (Corey), Laura (James), Matthew (Brenda), Aaron (Sarah), Shannon, Benjamin, Carrie, David, Eric (Megan), Olivia, Victoria, and Holly, and the loving Great Opa of Jasper, Luke, Cade, Clara, and Piper. He will be sadly missed by his many family and friends.
Cornelis was born in Schipluiden, Holland in 1932. As a young boy before the war, he loved his father’s hobby of flying pigeons and later enjoyed breeding and racing them, his greatest passion throughout his life.
During World War II, he was the responsible eldest son helping to provide for his family, especially during the time when his father was taken by the Germans to work in their munitions factory.
After the war, at the age of 14 he began to work full-time as a gardener’s helper. At the age of 18, he travelled to Africa with his family where he, his father, and his brother worked on the construction of the Owen Falls Dam in Uganda, for three and a half years. It is during this time in Africa that many of his experiences became the incredible stories he shared with his children and grandchildren. When the contract for building the dam was over, Cornelis and his family returned to Holland and from there they emigrated to Canada in 1955.
In Canada they began a new life, working in the fields in Holland Marsh. Cornelis then moved to Weston where he worked in the flower greenhouses and attended the church nearby where he met and married his smiling, “rosy cheeked Dutch girl”. He later worked in various factories until he was unexpectedly laid off at the age of 59. He was then employed during the summer months as a starter at the local golf course for almost 20 years, a job which he enjoyed thoroughly.
Over the years, he and his wife Mary loved to go ballroom dancing, travelling to various places, and vacationing in Florida.
He also had a passion for sports, especially soccer, and his appreciation for music permeated his life and those of his family.
His family meant the world to him, and he enjoyed telling his children and grandchildren stories of his life.
He is now no longer with us, and although we will miss him greatly, we are comforted in knowing that his suffering is over, and he has gone home to be with his Lord and Saviour, Jesus.
Family and friends will be received at Maranatha Christian Reformed Church, 4561 Langstaff Rd., Woodbridge on Thursday, September 8th, 2022, from 10 a.m. till service time at 12 noon. Interment will follow at Nashville Cemetery, 10445 Huntington Rd., Kleinburg.



Meeting ID: 820 7098 3119
Passcode: 356314
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