Wiebe Vander Wyk

Wiebe is survived by his brother Norm (Pat) Vander Wyk, his 4 children Rita (Peter) VanLaerhoven, Bruce Vander Wyk, Don (Terri) Vander Wyk, and Eric (Lara) Vander Wyk, as well as his grandchildren Scott (Rebecca) VanLaerhoven, Alex VanLaerhoven, Linda (Chris) De Bono, Trevor (Maggie) VanLaerhoven, Dexter (Courtney) Vander Wyk, Holli Vander Wyk, Amy Vander Wyk, Megan (Tanner) Vander Wyk, Caitlin Vander Wyk, and Jayden Vander Wyk, as well as great grandchildren Haley VanLaerhoven, Evelyn and Margaret De Bono, and his companion Susan Bryant. He is predeceased by his wife Froukje, his brother Durk, and his sister Aaf.

Wiebe was born January 28, 1933 in the town of Bolenslaan, Friesland, The Netherlands. He was the second child of four. Wiebe immigrated to California, USA with his family in 1948, then later moved to British Columbia, Canada in 1952. He met Froukje in the Netherlands in 1960 during one of his trips back home and came back to Canada together in 1961. In 1962, they married and continued a life dairy farming. The Vander Wyk family rented farms in Haney and Pitt Meadows before buying Malabar farm in Dewdney in 1965. In 1979, Wiebe and Froukje went on their own and moved their family to Agassiz, where he farmed until he retired.

Wiebe’s early passion was cars, which later changed to antique tractors. He collected and restored several tractors which he used in antique tractor pull competitions. Wiebe always had the ability to talk to anyone and his laugh could be heard at any function he attended. He was known to play the accordion from time to time, and in his early days, at gatherings. He enjoyed square dancing and his evening “31” card games with his friends. In his later years, he viewed the annual equipment auction as a social event, making time to connect with old friends.

He will be sorely missed, but not forgotten.

Graveside service will be held on March 25th, 2021 at 1:00pm at the Valley View Cemetery in Agassiz. Pallbearers: Bruce, Don, Eric, Dexter and Jayden Vander Wyk and Peter, Scott, Alex and Trevor VanLaerhoven. Donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.