Laurence Maria Zonneveld

Laurence Zonneveld passed away peacefully on August 7th, 2024 at the age of 89. He is survived by his children, Ralph Zonneveld, Maria Berryman (Steve), Julie Swift (Don), and Jeffrey Zonneveld (Holly). The family that Laurence started has now grown to 21 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.

He married the love of his life, Johanna (Hannie) Boudewyn on May 17th, 1958 in St Andrew’s Cathedral and they were together for 59 years before Johanna passed away on May 1, 2017. He steadfastly and faithfully loved her every day they had on earth together and he dreamt of her often after her passing.

Laurence was born in Amsterdam, Holland on February 24th, 1935, to Cornelius and Maria Zonneveld, one of the eldest of 13 children. He immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of 16, arriving first in Manitoba to farm sugar beets before making the decision to follow Johanna and settle in Victoria, BC

Laurence was an extremely hard working and ambitious man who found meaning in being an excellent provider for his family. He borrowed the money to buy his first pair of boots to work at Palm Dairies. From there he began Zonneveld Construction. In his 50’s he finally achieved his dream of starting his own dairy. He founded Royal Oak Dairy and ran it, together with members of his family, for 16 years before he retired. During his "down-time" he bought and sold real estate, ran a hobby farm, renovated homes and demonstrated the value of setting goals and achieving them.

His sense of humour was appreciated by many, and he was always quick to bring a cheeky smile or a laugh to almost any situation. He was no doubt an imposing man who commanded a room, whether that was making deals on a new piece of equipment for the dairy, or playfully slapping down a $20 bill and challenging a table of grandchildren to try to beat him at cards.

He led by example and we all learned something from him: work ethic, financial prudence, tenacity, entrepreneurship, the value of lifelong learning, generosity, kindness when it really counts, faithfulness to God and faithfulness to family.

We are comforted in the knowledge that Laurence is now safe in the arms of our Lord, and is reunited with his dear Hannie. He will be missed by all who knew him.

A special and heartfelt thank you to the staff at Island Health Home Support, and Saanich Peninsula Hospital.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Saanich Peninsula Hospital are gratefully accepted.