Jacob Vanderhooft

He leaves to mourn, Diane (nee Geschiere), his loving wife of 51 years, children Paul (Kelly), Tim (Jessie), Lisa (Lyle), Stephanie (Luke) and his grandchildren Brayden, Hannah, Michael (Leanna), Keegan, Kaelynn, Amy, Jenny, Levi, Mason and Madelyn. Also his brother Hank and sister Ria (Ross) Golightly, sisters-in-law Lena Vanderhooft and Carol Vanderhooft.

He was predeceased by his parents Pieter and Margaretha VanderHooft, siblings John, Peter, Abe, Margaret, Richard, Laura and Len.

A memorial service will be held at Providence Reformed Church, 2615 Henderson Hwy, on Saturday, September 6 at 11:00 am with reception to follow.

Jacob was born September 21, 1950 in Zeeland, The Netherlands to Pieter and Margaretha VanderHooft. He was the 10th child and completed their family.

After spending the first few years of childhood in The Netherlands, Jacob set sail with his family for Canada where a few siblings had already gone before. They decided to settle in Winnipeg. Some of Jake’s earliest memories of childhood in Canada include being put back to Kindergarten because he did not understand English. He was proud to say that he learned the language very quickly and then he jumped ahead.

His later school years were completed at Miles Mac Collegiate where he got involved in doing the lighting for the stage play Brigadoon. This is what sparked his interest in becoming an electrician.

Though he held other jobs, he decided to attend Red River College in 1968 to earn his Journeyman License as an electrician, completing it in 1972. He spent his entire career working for Goodman & Kojima Electric (later known as G&K Electric Inc.). He retired in 2013.

Jake met Diane, the love of his life in 1970 at youth group. They were married June 1, 1974 and had 4 children to complete their family- Paul (1976), Tim (1979), Lisa (1981), Stephanie (1984).

Jake always led by example- loyalty, integrity, determination and hard work. Though it was important to work hard, he always made time for his family and their interests. He would often drive straight from the job site to attend Paul, Lisa, and Steph’s school sports. It was important to him to be there to cheer his kids on. And he shared his love of music with Tim - they were in church choir together and you could often hear him singing or humming along when Tim was practicing piano.

Jake loved summer, it was his favourite time of year. It meant a few weeks of camping together with Diane and the kids. Camping could be local, or involve 2-3 week road trips to all sorts of places in Canada and the US. Some of the most memorable include Yellowstone, Ohio, and New York. They started with a tent trailer and once all the kids were too busy to camp with them, they graduated to the big camper. They would invite the grandchildren to come spend time with them at the campground too.

In later years, Jake and Diane started travelling to warmer destinations in winter and spent many weeks in warmer climates. Arizona, Hawaii, and Barbados to name a few. They really enjoyed these trips as they tended to do them with good friends. More recently, because travel was no longer an option, Jake appreciated his community at Bridgepark Manor and his church community who continued to meet with him and Diane for monthly breakfasts.

Though life changed dramatically for Jake in January 2022 when he suffered a major stroke that caused paralysis to the left side of his body, he remained a determined man. He was determined to walk, and he was proud to show us that he could take some steps because he kept working at it.

He was also determined to stay strong in faith. We have the assurance that he is healed now and doing what he so badly wanted - walking in the presence of Jesus.

We are thankful for all the compassion and care shown to Jake and the family by homecare workers, paramedics, STARS Air Ambulance and the medical staff at both Bethesda Hospital and Health Sciences Centre MICU.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada.