Gerrit Willem Demkes

Gerrit was born on August 8th, 1946 in Winterswijk, Netherlands, to Gertrude and Willem. He served in the Royal Netherlands Army as an Engineer where he developed his love for electronics. He married his wife Pauline in 1972, and they travelled the world visiting many different countries.

Gerrit began his career as an electrical engineer and in 1976, Gerrit, Pauline and their daughter Jennifer immigrated to Canada where they settled in Surrey, British Columbia. Their son Justin was born two years later.

Gerrit thoroughly enjoyed family gatherings and the company of others, especially his children and grandchildren who always benefitted from his love of Dutch and Canadian treats. He loved the outdoors and spent as much time as he could outside, sailing at Crescent Beach, cross-country skiing at BC’s many mountains, taking his family to many local beaches, lakes and nature trails, or just simply working in the garden with his wife Pauline. They often took their family on epic camping trips throughout western Canada and down the west coast of the United States.

He was a self-taught jack of all trades and could frequently be found tinkering on many different projects, whether he was building furniture for his family, or taking apart a broken household item and finding a way to fix it and put it back together.

Being a soft spoken and gentle man, Gerrit always put the needs of others first, lending a hand or listening to his loved ones, without question or judgement whenever they needed him. He always showed his children love and taught them compassion, empathy and the value of hard work, showing grit and determination in the face of repeated adversity.

Gerrit was predeceased by his beloved wife Pauline, who passed away from cancer in 1997. Gerrit is survived by his daughter Jennifer Hofer (Mike), his son Justin Demkes (Jacqueline) and his grandchildren, Madeline, Maya, Ryker, Ava and Deacon who will fondly remember him as Opa.

Gerrit’s family would like to thank the staff and nurses at Tabor Home Abbotsford, who took such good care of him over the last two and a half years. Their care and compassion were sincerely appreciated.

A private family service will follow at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gerrit’s memory to the Parkinson Society of British Columbia.