Liliane Betsy Verbeek

Liliane passed away peacefully at home, on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, after a hard-fought battle against cancer. Predeceased by her beloved husband, Theo, she leaves a huge void in the lives of her children, Hilde and her husband Gary, Jan and his wife Christine, and Karl; her grandchildren, Erika and her husband Damian, Natasha and her husband John, Michael, Brooke and her partner Brandon, Luke and Mark; and her great-grand-children, James and Lily, whom she had the immense pleasure of holding in her arms before she passed away.

Liliane was an extraordinary woman, whose life spanned 9 decades and 3 continents. She was born in Belgium in 1930, lived through the war, studied pharmacy, married, emigrated to Africa with her geologist husband in 1955, and then finally settled with him and their 3 children in Canada in 1968. She went back to school at age 40 to obtain her credentials to practice pharmacy in Canada, and started working at Oriole Pharmacy in North York, ultimately becoming its owner until she retired in 2001. She then spent the next two decades of her life volunteering at North York General Hospital and St. Bonaventure Church, where she was a regular at Sunday mass.

Liliane faced her cancer diagnosis with the same strength and practical attitude that she had shown her entire life. She stressed that she had had a long and fulfilling life, that she had accomplished a lot, and that she had no regrets. We are very grateful to all those who cared for her in the last months of her life: the staff at the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook, her palliative care doctor who came to the home, her nurse who visited her daily at the end, the many personal support workers who cared for her with compassion, and her son Karl, who made it possible for her to stay and die at home.

Liliane’s life exemplified service to others: her husband, her children and their families, her many relatives in Belgium, her friends and neighbours, her customers at the pharmacy, and “her” patients during her volunteering years. She will be profoundly missed by all those who knew her and loved her. We could not have asked for a better mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister-in-law, aunt, great-aunt, cousin, neighbour and friend.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a private family-only service will be held at St. Bonaventure Church on Monday, October 19.

For those who wish to do so, a donation in Liliane’s memory to the North York General Hospital Volunteer Services, a cause very dear to her heart, would be greatly appreciated.

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