Frank Van Der Liek

Beloved Dad to Michael, Ginny (Marco) and Frances, loving Opa to Emmett, Sarah, Grace, Seamus and Molly. Predeceased by his beloved wife Ina, his parents, Harry and Anna Van Der Liek, his sister, Cathy Baskin and his son, Daniel. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews and extended family.

Frank was an Outdoorsman all of his life. He spent as much time as he could hunting, fishing, shooting Sporting Clay and enjoying his love of Northern Ontario at the Cottage with his beloved family and dogs. Frank was known for his great sense of humour and his willingness to help anyone. As a dedicated member of the Galt Sportmens Club, Frank took great pride in volunteering his time and skills to help make the club a great place for all members.

Frank's family will receive friends and family at Coutts Funeral Home, 96 St. Andrews Street, Cambridge (519-621-1650) on Thursday September 7th from 11 am to 2 pm.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to The Humane Society or KidsAbility would be greatly appreciated by the family.

Cremation has taken place. A private family interment will be held at Mount View Cemetery, Cambridge.

Frank Van Der Liek - Life Story

If anyone was ever a life-long learner, it would have to be Frank Van Der Liek. He was an outgoing and well liked individual, who made many friends through his business and personal interests. Frank was a talkative person who was always willing to share his knowledge with others. He could be tactful at all times but typically said what he meant.

Frank was born on September 22, 1940 in Ubach over Worms in the Netherlands. He was the son of Heinrich (Harry) Van Der Liek and Anna Maria Triepels. Born Caspar Franciscus Gerardus Van Der Liek, Frank was raised in Maastricht, in the province of Limburg until he immigrated to Canada with his family.

During his childhood he learned to be reliable and respectful to those around him. Frank was raised with one sibling, his younger sister, Cathy. Frank and Cathy had the typical rivalries while growing up, but they cared for one another throughout their lives.

Frank was well known for his great sense of humour. He was always ready to hear or share a good joke and told many great stories. His family have many wonderful memories of laughing together at his silliness, his word play and his inventive song lyrics. He loved singing funny songs and serenading his family with his duck calls to get a good laugh.

There was one thing that all of Frank's friends knew and will remember, and that is that he was a talker. He could pretty much talk about anything and loved sharing his thoughts and stories. This quality is one of the primary reasons that Frank was such a popular person throughout his life. But Frank was also dependable, loyal, and trustworthy. He was the kind of person who was always willing to help someone out when they needed it. His family felt secure and supported knowing that he would always be there to help them with home repairs, renovations, car repairs and solid advice. When Frank made friends he made true and lasting friendships. He was very close friends with Alf Janzik in particular for over 4o years.

Frank was a faithful and loving person. Some may even call him sentimental and a romantic at heart. He always talked about meeting Ina for the first time at a dance in Freelton and knowing that she was the one he would marry. He claimed that it wasn’t smarts, it was pure luck that she said yes and he got to spend his life with Ina. Ina and Frank were married on May 27, 1963 in Freelton, Ontario. Compassionate and devoted, they worked hard together to make a happy life for themselves. They moved from Carlisle to Shep's Subdivision in North Dumfries, just outside of Cambridge, in the Fall of 1971. They raised their family and lived in the bungalow that Frank built for over fifty years.

Frank and Ina officially became Canadian Citizens together in 1976. Both immigrants to Canada, they were proud of the home and family they had built here.

Frank and Ina were blessed with four children, two sons, Michael and Daniel and two daughters, Ginny and Frances. They were also blessed with five grandchildren, Emmett, Sarah, Grace, Seamus and Molly. Family gatherings and special occasions were always a source of laughter and joy for the whole family.

Frank worked hard when he finished school and at a young age followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming a carpenter. He worked for many years alongside his father in their residential construction business: Standard Construction. Throughout the years Frank continued his learning, earning a Master plumbers license, taking drafting courses, learning how to run new machines and how to build them too. If Frank didn’t know how to do something, he would problem solve and learn whatever skills he needed in order to be able to do it.

Flying. Frank loved the idea of flying even as a boy. He always wanted to know how it was possible and how to do it. In February 1973, he earned his Student Pilot Permit and on April 14th of that same year, he completed his first solo flight in a Cessna - 150 at the Waterloo-Wellington Airport in Breslau, Ontario. He was granted his Private Pilot Licence by the Canadian Department of Transport on October 4th, 1973. He went on to build and own a hanger and a couple of small planes at the Waterloo-Wellington Airport in the 1970s.

From a young age, Frank was also a passionate outdoorsman. He enjoyed spending time outdoors learning about guns and hunting, and even learning to load his own ammunition to support these hobbies. He also had a creative streak and enjoyed learning about the art of gunsmithing to maintain and restore older guns. He loved working with his hands and problem solving challenges on any given project and was proud to have something to show for his efforts. He loved reading Louis L'amour novels, books about the World Wars, history and all types of informational books to build his knowledge of shooting and ammunition. He balanced that with his love of cartoons. Looney Tunes, Disney movies, Herman, Pickles, and Calvin and Hobbes were just some of his favourites that always made him laugh.

When Frank’s father passed away in 1983, Frank decided to close the construction business and turn his passion for shooting into his own family business. The whole family worked together to get the business going and Frank continued to work side by side with his wife, Ina and son, Mike, for 40 years in their family business: Custom Bullets and Ammunition. They worked hard in this business and built a wonderful life for themselves and their family.

His extensive knowledge and experience in shooting and ammunition loading also led to other career opportunities, Frank was hired by the Chief Firearms Office in Ontario as a Shooting Range Safety Inspector for Sportsmen's clubs across South Western Ontario. He also worked for the CFO instructing and providing the required safety training courses to people applying to get their Firearms Acquisitions Certificates. He was proud to share his knowledge to promote the safe handling and use of firearms.

Frank enjoyed all types of shooting and was a member of the Galt Sportsman’s Club for over 50 years. He loved shooting Sporting Clay and became one of the best shots in the club. Over the years, he spent many hours volunteering to improve and build the club in many ways and eventually became club Treasurer. He was awarded a lifetime membership in honour of all of his volunteer work for the club. He built many good friendships and business relationships over the years at this club and it became like a second home to him.

Frank enjoyed spending as much time as possible in Northern Ontario. He never tired of going back and revisiting his favourite places. He did a lot of hunting and fishing up North throughout his life, but his very favourite vacations were the yearly family trips to Northern Ontario when the whole family would rent cottages and just enjoy time together at Forest Lake Lodge, and later at Cudmore’s Clear Lake Cottages as the family grew bigger.

Frank was a lover of animals, especially dogs. He was well known in the dog community for always having a spare weiner or a pocket full of dog snacks. He had many pets over his lifetime but his cherished beagles, Trixie and Abigail, were his favourites and brought the whole family many years of joy and good company.

Frank passed away on August 31, 2023 at his home in Cambridge, Ontario from a sudden cardiac event. He is survived by his children, Michael, Ginny (Marco) and Frances, his grandchildren Emmett, Sarah, Grace, Seamus and Molly, and many nieces and nephews. Services were held at Coutt’s Funeral Home, Cambridge, Ontario. Frank was laid to rest in Mountview Cemetery in Cambridge, Ontario with his beloved wife, Ina.

Frank accomplished many things in his life and was always up to the challenge of learning and experiencing new things. He was a great talker that never tired of talking about his knowledge and interests in order to share them with others. He was known for his strong opinions and always said what he meant whether it was the popular opinion or not. His friends always knew exactly where he stood on all issues. He was without question the type of person who enjoyed experiencing things first hand. Frank was an intelligent, knowledgeable person with a quest for learning and a fun-loving side that will be dearly missed by his family and all that knew him.