Thomas DenBok

Tom DenBok of Brampton, ON passed away suddenly and peacefully on April 3rd, one week short of his 89th birthday April 14. He was born in Utrecht, Holland, the 3rd child of 8 born to Willem and Helena. During the Nazi occupation of Holland, authorities declared that Tom's workplace (a bank) had surplus workers and sent him to a work camp near Hamburg in place of another man who was married with children. He escaped and walked home a year and a half later, hiding in plain sight at his grandparents' home in Almkirk- where Nazi officers had commandeered the upper floors. His daughters were proud and surprised when Tom received a medal of honour for his work with the Dutch Resistance, something he rarely mentioned.

After WWII, Tom volunteered with the Dutch army in Indonesia. He fell in love with the country, but was unable to immigrate, instead coming to Canada in the early 1950's. He worked on construction, later pioneering early mainframe computers while qualifying as a Professional Engineer in night classes. At Litton Industries, he was part of the team that designed the guidance system for the Apollo space missions. He later worked for Philips Global and Ontario Hydro.

At the age of 80, Tom eloped with Ali deBoer who brought tremendous joy to his final decade. He is survived by three daughters from his first marriage to the late Irene Denbok: Connie (Doug), Christine (Rob) and Patty (Rob) and six grandchildren: Alyssa and Kathleen McLeod, Victor and Nicky Veitch; and Lucy and Sarah Tempest; as well as his brothers Gerry (Paulina), William (Flora) and sister-in-law Jane, brother Henry's widow.
Visitation at Ward Funeral Home “Brampton Chapel” 52 Main Street South (Hwy 10), Brampton on Mon., April 9 from 6 - 9pm. Funeral services will be held at St. Paul's United Church in Brampton on Tues., April 10 at 11am. Reception to follow. Memorial gifts may be directed to the Christian Blind Mission www.cbmcanada.org.