Richard Jack Burghardt

It is with immense sorrow that we announce the passing of our truly beloved Richard - husband, father and grandfather - at age 97, after a long, eventful and fulfilling life that spanned The Netherlands, the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Canada. Richard was born in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands but spent his formative years on the island of Sumatra Indonesia where his father managed a tobacco plantation and his mother’s family owned the well-known Hotel de Boer. As was de rigueur for Dutch children living in Indonesia, Richard obtained his primary school education at a Boarding School in Medan, North Sumatra and his secondary education at a Boarding School in The Netherlands called Huize Katwijk.

In 1939 WWII broke out; in May 1940 The Netherlands was occupied by Germany. As a result, Richard’s Boarding School was forced to move locations and to eventually close. Richard, whose parents were still in Indonesia, boarded with the families of other students while also hiding from the Germans who were deporting young men to work as forced labour in German factories.

Then in January 1942, the Japanese invaded Indonesia. The Dutch Colony surrendered in March and soon thereafter Richard’s parents and their compatriots disappeared into the brutal Japanese concentration camps.

The occupation of The Netherlands ended with the German surrender in May 1945 and the occupation of Indonesia ended with the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Richard had spent over 3 years with no word from his parents, believing the worst. He often referred to those years as a very dark period particularly as he had no idea of what had become of his parents or what would now become of his own life. However, his parents managed to survive the concentration camps and returned to The Netherlands, settling in Apeldoorn. Subsequently, in Apeldoorn, Richard met and fell in love with Sophie Pennings, who had become acquainted with his mother. But unsure of his post-war future in The Netherlands, he had applied for immigration to North America. Since he had not given it much thought for some time it was quite a surprise to receive word that his application had not only been accepted but that in addition, he had only a very short time in which to make his decision. Richard proposed to Sophie.

In 1954 Richard immigrated to Canada, the country that had liberated The Netherlands. Once settled, Sophie joined him and they were married in Toronto where Richard returned to his studies and became a Chartered Accountant.

Sophie and Richard raised four children: Joyce, Cheryl (Geordie), Tony (Kim) and Stephen. He was predeceased by his wife Sophie of 62 years and leaves behind four grandchildren: Jason, Lexi, Mitchell and Luke. He will also be deeply mourned by his wife Thelma whom he had the wonderful fortune to meet in his latter years and whom he married in 2018.

Richard was a devoted father and grandfather, a loving husband, a classical music aficionado, a self-taught philosopher and historian and, above all, a devout Catholic. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends and all those who had the great fortune of knowing him.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 11 am in St. Boniface Church, Scarborough. Rite of Committal with Prayers will take place at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Picton.

If desired, donation to Good Shepherd Ministries, Toronto would be appreciated, https://goodshepherd.ca/donate/.