Harry Maria Heemskerk

Harry spent 88 years bringing joy to those around him and sharing the true, living light of Christ with all his family and friends. Beloved and most cherished husband to Theresa, dear father of Sandy (David), Sebastian/Buzz (Val), Tim (Julie), Jennifer (Cameron), and Bernard/Ben (Leanne). Opa to Nai’a, Stephanie, Rebecca, Kyle , Avalon, Sebastian, Kalista, Dellis, Abigail, Violet, and Ava May. Overgrootvader (Great Grandfather) to Rose, Cammy, and Vaela. Survived by sisters Ann and Agnes, and brothers Michael and Tony and their families. Survived, too, by many loving in-laws, nieces, nephews, and dear friends. Harry is now joyful in the Lord’s presence and reunited in Heaven with his mother and father, Antonia and Sebastianus, his sisters Dora, Nel, Reit, and Jo, and his brothers Piet, Cor, and Sebastian and his grandson Sebastian.. We will always remember his goofy smile, his boisterous sense of humor that could lift any sad heart, his loving support, and deep love of Jesus. Harry was a good, good man, and we thank God for him.

This Dutchman was always a brave, heartwarming, and cheeky spirit. His family survived Nazi occupiers in Amsterdam and not long after the Second World War moved to Canada, the land of mountains, lakes, and opportunity. Harry worked with his family on a sugar beet farm in Southern Alberta. Later, Harry was a ranch hand, drove trucks, built bridges and precast structures, was a BC Hydro diesel generator attendant, custodian, school bus driver, carpenter, NOCA/Dairyland employee, Chief of Fire and Ambulance Services, volunteered with the Red Cross and Boy Scouts, and established acolytes in Kamloops Diocese.

He fell in love with Theresa, and they married in 1963. They lived in Regina, Calgary, Surrey, New Westminster, Blue River, and finally Vernon and the Okanagan Reserve. With Theresa, Harry spent time as a lay missionary in Blue River and later in life with Scarboro Foreign Missions in Guyana. Above all, he was an unconditionally loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, son, friend, and neighbour to strangers. He was not afraid of hard work, and he helped everyone with a spirit of infectious optimism.

Harry and his wife Theresa lived the Gospel of Christ daily in prayer to help them be guided in word and deed. We remember his words to a granddaughter who interviewed him about his life: “Fighting and misunderstanding between people doesn’t get any place. We have to be able to love people and try to understand them and accept them for what they are, even though they may be of a different class of people or different country.”

May Harry be filled with perfect Joy and Rise with the Saints in Glory, and may his memory always be a blessing.

A prayer service for Harry will be held Friday, July 11, 2025 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Our Lady of the Valley Church, 10178 Middleton Dr, British Columbia, BC V1B 2K6. A funeral service will occur Saturday, July 12, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Our Lady of the Valley Church.