Albert Gezinus Bysterveld

Albert was born on June 21 1954 in Murrayville B.C., to Germt and Jantje Bysterveld. He was the 4th of 10 children. He was raised in Cloverdale B.C. on Colebrook Road. At age 23 he caught the eye of our Mom, Rita Hoeksema and on April 3, 1980 they were married. Together they had 8 children – 7 girls and 1 boy – and 38 grand children and 1 great-grandchild.

Albert farmed in Cloverdale with his Dad, and brothers. In 1987, Dad and Mom began a farm of their own in Langley BC, called Arco Farms. They moved to Chilliwack BC, then Abbotsford BC. Finally, with Jeff wanting to farm with Dad, they needed a bigger place. They bought in Neerlandia AB, bringing the 5 younger children with them. Albert farmed here for almost 18 years. It didn’t go quite as he planned. Soon after the move, he was diagnosed with COPD and Emphysema. This limited him drastically, and instead of farming with his son, he slowly adjusted to farming from the kitchen table. He would hop in his tractor during harvest any chance he could get, but that too became less and less.

We all saw the gradual decline with his health. Mom was ever faithful in taking care of all his needs. It was not easy for either of them. Thankfully they were still able to make many trips to Taber and BC to visit family. Eventually these trips happened less often and the last 6 months were especially difficult. In the early hours of March 20 2025, Dad was finally free of his earthly journey with its limitations and the Lord took Albert into Heavenly Glory. We will miss him here and now, but are glad he could enter his eternal rest.

He is predeceased recently by his Mom (2025), his Dad(1995), 3 infant brothers, as well as Marvin(1980), George(2007), Martin(2021), his father-in-law Peter (2012) and his granddaughter Daphne(2019).

A memorial service for Albert will be held Monday, March 31, 2025 at 1:00 PM at Hope Canadian Reformed Church.