Grace van Donkersgoed ~ Went to be with her Lord, suddenly on Tuesday, April 21, 2015, in her 83rd year.

Wife of Bert van Donkersgoed of Listowel. Mother and grandmother of Gerald Donkersgoed and his wife Laurie Miller of Vancouver, B.C. (Luke and Kelly), Christine Remley and her husband Frank of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta (Laura, Karina and her husband Kenny Stennes, and Matthew), and Bernice Baljet and her husband Dan of Rochester Hills, Michigan (Kristin, Danielle, and Nicole), and great-grandmother of Cade Stennes.

Sister of Luke and Sini van Dijk, George and Els van Dijk, and Margie Ellen, and sister-in-law of Annie van Dijk.

Grace was predeceased by her son Luke in 1984, sisters Trientje Hazelaar and Gloria Vandertuin, and brother Henk.

Grace was born in the Netherlands in 1932 to Stientje and Lucas (Kamps) van Dijk. Her father was a baker, and she was unwittingly a member of the Dutch resistance during the war, delivering a specific number of loaves of bread to a specific house - many times. In 1952 she immigrated to Canada with her parents and sister (3 brothers were already in Canada, 2 other sisters stayed in Holland). She often said, with a twinkle in her eye, that she enjoyed the voyage - her kids never did hear details, apart from celebrating her 20th birthday on the ‘boat'. The family arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax, and took the train as far as Manitoba. They settled in Souris and soon moved to Brandon. She got a job at the local hospital, and Brandon being a centre of Ukranian immigrants it was several weeks before she realized the second language she was acquiring was not English. She met Bert in 1953 and they married the following year; all 4 children were born in Brandon. Grace’s sense of humour and Bert’s gentle smile resulted in wide circle of friends. They moved to Ontario in 1966. And they moved to Ontario in 1973. Yes, twice. Youngest son Luke’s asthma forced a return to Manitoba following the first move, which Grace laughingly referred to as ‘the time we took a holiday with all our furniture.” When they finally settled in Ontario, they had several years with a laying hen flock in Brussels and then another flock in West Montrose. Luke lost his battle with cancer in 1984. Grace was always generous with helping others, volunteering through organizations such as the Canadian Cancer Society, The Canadian Diabetes Association, the Willing Workers at Knox Presbyterian in Listowel, and the Terry Fox Foundation. She spent many happy years working afternoons at The Top Drawer in St. Jacobs. Grace had a gift of telling a story, laughing at herself, she wasn’t shy about being the center of attention at any gathering of 2 or more people. She took enormous pleasure in visiting people and brightening their days.

Visitation will be held at the Eaton Funeral Home, Listowel on Thursday from 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The funeral service will be held at Knox Presbyterian Church, Listowel on Friday, April 24th at 11:00 a.m. Rev. Don McCallum officiating.

Following the reception at church, interment will be held in Cranbrook Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Terry Fox Foundation or Evangel Hall (evangelhall.ca) would be appreciated.