Antonius Johannus Vandersteen

In 1953 a six year old, Antonius (Tony) Johannus Franciscus Vandersteen immigrated from The Netherlands to Canada with his mom and dad, his younger sister Carla and his brother Robert. They made their home in Lindsay in Ontario. When Tony finished school he went on to study law to get his degree. For as long as he could remember, he loved the newest electronics, even starting a small retail business to pay for his schooling. To earn extra income, he also fixed broken devices himself. It was only at his mother's behest that he earned his LL.B. Yet, despite obtaining a professional law degree, he chose never to practice, instead, he followed his own desires and continued running his electronics store and repair business.

In 1973 the entire family Vandersteen moved to the lower mainland of B.C. and Tony opened Vandersteen’s TV Stereo Sales & Service Limited in Coquitlam. His hard work made it a success. He never regretted not going on to practise law, running and working in that electronic business was what he truly loved and cared about the most. In 1975, he met the girl who would become the love of his life and they were married on Valentine’s Day in 1976. His new wife Léni quit her job and not only became his life partner, but also his business partner, and they ran the business together, merging their personal lives with their work. In the fall of 1976, they moved their business to Burnaby, at the corner of North Road and Lougheed Highway, it was a better location and offered more physical space than their previous site, and they remained there until they finally closed it when they retired in 2011.

Two day into 1977, their oldest son was born. He was named after his grandfather and his dad, and they called him Tonny, the Dutch version of Tony. And in 1978, 22 months later their second son was born. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Jacobus Johannes Rudolf and they called him Jamie. Having their own retail business made their lives busy, especially for Tony, because he worked a six day week. But he made sure that his wife’s first priority could always be their children. As much as he loved his business, Tony loved his family more. While he cared about his business, his core emotional value and ultimate devotion stayed with his family, proving that personal relationships mattered more to him than financial or professional success.

In retirement, Tony and Léni were finally able to take wonderful long vacations to Europe and in February 2026, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

On Sunday, September 20th, at the age of 79, the Lord called Tony home. He leaves behind his wife Léni, his two sons Tonny and Jamie, Jamie’s wife, Angela, and three grandsons, Tony (the IV), Dakota and Tristan.

A Committal Service will be held at Maple Ridge Cemetery, 21404 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge, BC, V2X 3G5, CA, on October 7, 2026, from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm.