Marie’s Obituary
Marie Plaizier, née van de Pol, was born on April 9, 1927, in Nijkerk, Holland, and grew up on a tiny farm in nearby Hoevelaken. She died peacefully, a week short of her 93rd birthday, on April 2, 2020, in Peace River, Alberta, Canada, where she had lived for seventy years. The eighth child of thirteen children, Mom’s family and early life were challenged by poverty, and years of war under nazi occupation. After the war, Mom found her way to Canada, with the dream of finding a new life in the land whose troops had liberated her homeland.
On their Judah Hill farm, in the company of her husband, Willem Plaizier, Mom became a homemaker and community builder, as well as being indispensable to the daily chores of milking a large herd of milk cows, and working the farm machinery. Mom loved animals and many of those farm chores, relentless though they were. As a dedicated leader and volunteer with the Alberta Women’s Institute, and Associated Country Women of the World, she later became a world traveler. Recognized locally and nationally for her volunteer work, she was twice invited to meet the queen.
Mom had a strong sense of justice. As a young child she felt outrage at being given an undershirt as a charitable handout, while richer children were given books. Mom was only allowed to complete school up to grade 5. As a teenager, she witnessed the atrocities of war. Life, and near death experiences created a resolve that led her to activism. She co-founded the North Peace Homemakers’ Retreat Society, and was among the founders and long term volunteers on the local Crisis Line. She provided a safe house for battered women. These tireless efforts contributed to the eventual creation of the Peace River Regional Women’s Shelter. She worked on numerous international development projects. She engaged politically by nominating and supporting leaders, especially women she believed in.
Mom was a visible and vocal member of the community. Many people remember her Saturday morning weekly live Women’s Institute Reports over CKYL. Peace River Historical Society was close to her heart. As 1967 Centennial projects, Mom and Dad officially named their farm ‘Sagitawa’, the Nehiyo word they understood to mean ‘from where one views the meeting of the waters.’ They donated the small parcel of land known as Sagitawa Lookout to the Town of Peace River. Mom actively worked on the committees that founded the Museum and published Peace River Remembers. Through the 1990s, Mom carried on Dad’s practice of writing a weekly personal column in the Record Gazette.
Mom demanded high standards from herself and others. She insisted that the house be clean and dust free, and if the shoes didn’t shine properly, we had to polish them again. We were expected to excel at our endeavors, whether creative or academic. More than once her children overheard her on the phone saying ‘That’s not good enough,’ if she found a service or transaction to be unsatisfactory. When the opportunity for distance education became available through Athabasca University, Mom completed a first year psychology course, to prove to herself that she was capable of higher level learning. She later studied for and served briefly as a Justice of the Peace.
Mom knew how to greet and befriend newcomers, both as a devoted member of St. Paul’s United Church, and with many summers in later years as volunteer staff at the the Peace River Tourist Information Centre. Just last year, stories still came to her children of people in past years who appreciated dinner invitations from Mom, and one who said ‘Marie Plaizier was my only friend in Peace River.’
Mom made many gallons of wine and beer over the years, enlisting her children to pluck the pounds and pounds of required berries, clover, or dandelion. She enjoyed sharing a glass or more with friends and family, and was still more pleased if you would engage in a game or two of scrabble.
Marie is survived by her children, Henry William Plaizier (Jill Plaizier), Gertrude Wilma Plaizier (Brent Taylor), Heather Mae Plaizier (Linda Martin), Rene Plaizier (Rawn Wolfe), and grandchildren Akash Chowdhury (Karissa Chowdhury), Sina van de Pol, Saxon Butte (Taylor Hanley), Birken Butte (George Tailleur), Katie Plaizer (Andrew Heule), Kaz Harding (Terry Harding), Anastasia Plaizier (Skip Jensen), Marian PIckup (Jordan Pickup), Lorelei Butt (Lonny Cowan), great grandchildren Kelwyn, Hudson, Koen, Beau, Demiyen, Jessica, Marissa, Junior, and great great grandchild, Constantine.
A Memorial Service will be held from St. Paul’s United Church in Peace River on July 29 at 1:00 PM.
If friends so desire, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marie’s honor to the Peace River Regional Women’s Shelter.
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Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Marie Plaizier April 9 1927 April 2 2020..
Chapel of Memories Funeral Homes & Crematorium
Décès pour la Ville: Peace River, Province: Alberta