Mr. Maurits Johan Mees

Born Montreal, QC on December 30, 1930

Died West Vancouver, BC on February 26, 2021

Maurits (a.k.a. Mauk by his Dutch family and Mark by his Canadian family) was born in Montreal on December 30, 1930 and was the eldest son of Jacob Mees and Carolina Heeris and brother to Carel Mees (deceased) and Els Arthur (nee Mees) of Figtree, NSW, Australia.

Shortly after his birth, Mauk and his parents moved back to their native Netherlands where he would spend the next 18 years of his life, including the very challenging times during WW2 where the country was occupied by the Germans and subject to many horrors, including food shortages and the loss of his father in a Nazi concentration camp. Mauk was mainly raised in the war time years by his grandmother (Oma) Jeanne Heeris Op de Coul von Saher. The Netherlands was liberated by the Canadians in 1945 and shortly thereafter, at the age of 18, Mauk made the decision to move back to his birth country of Canada joining the Canadian Armed Forces in 1950, following in the footsteps of his first cousin, Freddie, married to Danny Gaitens, a major in the Canadian military.

The move to Canada was very challenging as Mark spoke little English and was eventually stationed overseas in both the Netherlands and England. Following his honourable discharge in 1953, he took a position with the Bank of Commerce in Toronto and met his soon to be wife of almost 64 years, Twyla Jean Froud, daughter of Kathleen and Reginald Froud. Mark and Twyla married in Toronto on March 2, 1957. Twyla gave birth to their first son, Mark Jr on June 28, 1959, followed by their daughter, Marla on September 15, 1962 and a second son, Carel on January 15, 1964. Mark joined United Dominions, a heavy equipment financing company, in 1958, where he rose through the ranks, eventually becoming an Assistant Vice-President prior to the company being purchased by CIBC.

The family lived in the Toronto suburb of Willowdale from 1964 to 1967, with the family moving to North Vancouver in January 1968 as Mark’s career started taking off. They made another move to Beaconsfield, Quebec from December 1973 until June 1976 with a final move back to Canada’s west coast and a home in West Vancouver where he remained until his passing.

Mark was a proud Canadian flying his Canadian flag on Canada Day. He was also a proud member of the Terminal City Club, an avid gardener and reader, often reading 2 or 3 books a week. He loved his home and his family and, he was a very generous, kind, accepting and loving husband and father. He was so proud of his children and their accomplishments in life as well as those of his grand-daughter, Katie Ritchie.

Mark is survived by his wife, Twyla and their children Mark and his life partner, Scot Matheson, Marla Ritchie, wife of Graham Ritchie (deceased January 2018), Carel and wife Denise Zunker and, sister Els Arthur and her husband Graham Arthur, grand-daughter Katie Ritchie and husband Shawn Hallgren, as well many nieces and nephews in Canada, The Netherlands and Australia.

Rest in Peace

The family would like to thank Hollyburn Funeral Home, West Vancouver, BC, for their compassion and support.

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