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Obituary For Gerard van Rootselaar
March 18, 1942-July 14, 2024
Gerard van Rootselaar, 82, of Woking, Alberta, passed away on Sunday, July 14th, 2024. He was born on March 18th, 1942, in Hoevelaken, Netherlands.
While they lived in Holland, Gerard’s parents ran a successful farm. Then, when he was 9 years old, his parents decided it was time for a new start, so they loaded him and his six siblings onto a ship and headed for Canada. They stopped in the Granum, Alberta area for a spell where some of their relatives had already settled. Then they moved again – this time to Silver Valley, Alberta. However, it wasn’t long after that the family decided to settle on some land just a few miles west of Spirit River, Alberta where they spent the rest of their farming years.
It was here that he met his wife, Caroline (Carol). They were married in Waldheim, Saskatchewan (Carol’s hometown), in 1967 and shortly thereafter (9 months to be exact) they had a baby boy whom they named Colin and 21 months later they had their daughter Denise.
Gerard’s working career began at age 16, when he decided to leave the family business and go into construction where he spent the rest of his professional career in various capacities, this career took him all over the world. It all started in the Peace Country area, where he worked on his own and for local contractors before landing a job with Pool Construction (now known as PCL Construction) where he worked his way up to Superintendent.
PCL transferred Gerard and his family to Yellowknife, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Regina (where they lived for 14 years) before being transferred to Ottawa. This is where he spent the remainder of his PCL years retiring at age 55. Gerard didn’t stay retired for long as he became a Consultant for a refrigeration company overseeing the installation of skating rinks and ski hills all over the US, Europe and Asia. Carol was even able to join him on several of these trips; for a couple that loved to travel and experience new adventures, this was right up their alley.
When he wasn’t working, Gerard loved to have fun and joke around. In fact, not much ever got in the way of his leisure time. He loved the outdoors, like fishing and hunting with his brothers and best friend Wally. He was always active and living life to the fullest – from going out to dances with their friends to snowmobiling, 3 wheeling, golfing, boating, trail riding; even trying new things, such as hockey (PCL hockey team) and downhill skiing (which he started at the age of 40). He also always looked forward to the PCL annual events – golf tournaments, bonspiels and company picnics. Gerard and Carol owned a cottage for many years in Saskatchewan where family and friends would gather every summer. They also spent many winters as snowbirds down in Mesa, Arizona. So long as he was doing all these activities with his family and friends, he was the happiest guy on earth.
Gerard is survived by his wife Carol, son Colin (Elizabeth) and daughter Denise; grandsons Alex and Jacob; sister Rena; brothers Casey (Grace), Tim (Kay), Bill, Nick (Sandra), brother-in-law John; in-laws from his wife’s side of the family – sisters-in-law Marina & Martha, and brother-in-law Delmer (Allene); and many nieces and nephews, as well as great nieces and nephews from both sides. He is also survived by many friends who were like family to him.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Nicholas and Johanna (Doppenberg); parents-in-law Alexander and Elizabeth (Labun), sister Ann (John), sisters-in-law Patricia, Rose, Pauline and Florence; brothers-in-law Hans (Rena), Edgar, Melvin, Norm (Martha) and Wilbert (Marina); nephews Jeff and Raymond; and his best friend Wally Plaviak.
Memorial donations may be made in Gerard’s memory to the Parkinson’s Association of Alberta at parkinsonassociaiton.ca or the link under Gerard’s photo.
Care entrusted to Bear Creek Funeral Home 780-830-7742 bcfh.ca
18/03/1942 14/07/2024
Death notice for the town of: Grande-Prairie, Province: Alberta
death notice Gerard van Rootselaar 18/03/1942 14/07/2024
obituaries notice Gerard van Rootselaar 18/03/1942 14/07/2024
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Gerard van Rootselaar 18/03/1942 14/07/2024 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
