Obituary Overview
In Memory of Nancy
“Life as we know it has changed forever…”
On January 13 at 3:53 am, at the age of 52, Nancy Darlene Van Ginkel (Plume) peacefully stepped out of her life at the palliative care unit in the Moncton Hospital. A life, which she fully embraced. The expression “Everybody has a plan in life, until you get punched in the face” became very true sixteen months ago. She got punched in the face with an incurable brain tumor. She knew from the beginning that it was going to be an unfair fight. Nevertheless, as a true, stubborn fighter, she took it head-on and fought her battles through surgery, radiation and chemo. During that period, she made the best out of her life. As that’s who she was all her life: a fighter – knocked down 7 times, stand up 8.
Her travels took her to new and different cultures, places, food and wine. The Dominican Republic, The Gambia, and Italy were especially close to her heart. The beach was her second home, sometimes even her first. The weather could not be hot enough to warm her up.
But she didn’t really need the weather to be warm, as her husband (William), her daughters and significant others (Aimee & Derek, Alix & Caleb, Alisha & John), her grandchildren (Cohen, Bentley, Autumn, Carson, Kaiya, and Arrow), her parents (Ron & Marion) and her dogs (Gabriel, Gala, Quincy & Otis) always wrapped a blanket of warm love around her. Love that was unmatched, especially during the last sixteen months of her life. She was also blessed with caring families from Canada (Brenda, Brent & Tasha, Brian & Lori, Travis & Kim & Madison) and Holland (Van Ginkel). The world was her oyster as she was always surrounded with close friends from Canada and all over the world.
She can be described in numerous ways. Her eye for beauty and creativity being one of them. She could see life in all its beauty in just a rock on the beach, create a wonderful flower bouquet from flowers out of her garden, turn a blank canvas into a beautiful painting, bake amazing birthday cakes for the grandchildren or turn a ‘fixer-upper’ into a stunning palace. But above all, her care for family, friends, and animals was simply unmatched. Making her husband a better person and teaching her daughters about life. Being ‘oma’ for her grandchildren and taking care of her dogs. Helping out friends and being the best daughter and sister to her family that she could have.
In case you want to say goodbye to Nancy, you are welcome to attend the visitation on Friday, January 19, 2018 from 6 pm to 9 pm and/or attend her Celebration of Life Service on Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 10:30am. Both will be held at the Fair Haven Funeral Home in Moncton.
Donations in Nancy’s memory can be made to the IWK in Halifax, the Moncton SPCA, the Palliative Care Unit in the Moncton Hospital or can be up to your discretion.
As a family, we would like to express a sincere, grateful and warm thanks to the wonderful team at the Palliative Care Unit in the Moncton Hospital. With your help, we were able to ‘just be’ with her.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Nancy Van Ginkel 2018.source
Décès pour la Ville: Moncton, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick
