Browse the obituary of residing in the province of Ontario for funeral details

Service:
A celebration of life will be held on
August 10th, 2025 at the
Simpson-Burke Residence.
Please email Brian.VanHeesch@gmail.com
for information
Towering Renaissance man Brian VanHeesch passed away peacefully at the impolite age of 55 after a long battle with cancer.
He was professionally regarded as one of the leading software engineers of his generation. This, however, is only the tip of a considerable iceberg of talents, passions, ideas and ridiculous escapades that defined a full-fat life with an extra dollop of cream on top. And sprinkles.
Born in Chatham, Ontario, Brian was the son of Martin and Diny (Nooyen) VanHeesch, 4th-generation Dutch farmers. After finishing school in Blenheim, he scored an absurd 99% in the University of Waterloo’s entrance exam. By all accounts (including his own), between movies, LAN parties and Dairy Queen runs, Brian almost managed a full day of study during his 4 years at university to get his Bachelors of Math degree. It also gave him plenty of spare time to date his fellow force-of-nature Manju Sekhri and many years later pass on his tenacity for life to Sasha.
Brian joined the plucky Toronto-based Architel Systems in 1994 and quickly established himself as an incredibly talented software engineer. Through Architel and a variety of other business ventures, Brian travelled widely in those early-career years. Able to rapidly devise elegant solutions to some very complex and cutting-edge problems, Brian’s code is still running in Telcos around the world more than 30 years later.
Brian’s ability to see simple solutions to complex problems extended beyond the abstract world of software and into the physical realm of home improvement. Boasting a tool collection that was basically his own branch of Canadian Tire, Brian set about an ancient-Rome-scale building programme to both his own and other people’s houses. The gigantic stone block feature outside the Britannia House can apparently be seen from space!
He set the tone for a lifetime of work and play both home and abroad with Manju and Sasha in tow. Whether it was carrying 6 canoes by himself on an Algonquin portage, sliding down waterfalls in Malaysia, touring Amsterdam all day with Sasha on his shoulders or bestriding the Himalayas, Brian was incredibly strong and ever-ready for adventure.
But most of all, Brian was a committed absurdist and ferocious fancy-dress artiste: always ready to find the funny or ridiculous side of any situation. His generosity of spirit was as large as his legs, and he had a typically Brian-sized group of close friends that regularly gathered around his marble-topped Island for many, many cheeky ones.
So when cancer arrived in 2017, Brian treated it as just another problem to solve and not something to impinge on his life-chomping spirit (famously getting back to coding in the post-surgery recovery room, complete with slurred phone calls to colleagues). Whether it was biking 50 kilometres to a chemo appointment or hiking up mountains in Costa Rica, Brian steadfastly refused to let his illness compromise his lifestyle.
Brian’s life-on-all-cylinders is an example to us all and he leaves behind a huge body of work, experiences, love and laughter shared with Manju, Sasha and so many of his friends.
Brian is survived by the love of his life Manju, darling daughter Sasha; his sister Elly (Chris), brother Ronny (Kelly), honorary sister Jennifer and her children India and Sawyer; nieces Jessica, Joy, Brianne and his nephews Konnor, Bryn and Kourtlan; mother-in-law Urmil Sekhri, sister-in-law Anju (Sheldon) and brother-in-law Manu (Radhika); nephews Akshay, Anuj, Noah and niece Uma.
Predeceased by his parents Martin and Diny and his father-in-law Ripudaman Kumar Sekhri.
Cremation has already taken place.
A celebration of life will be held on August 10th, 2025 at the Simpson-Burke Residence. Please email Brian.VanHeesch@gmail.com for information or to send messages to the family.
No flowers please. Friends and family wishing to remember him with a memorial donation are asked to consider the Juravinski Cancer Clinic (www.hamiltonhealth.ca/inhonour) or Acclaim Health Care (acclaimhealth.ca).
Print

January 9 1970 June 23 2025

blenheim community funeral home

Death notice for the town of: Blenheim, Province: Ontario

death notice Brian VanHeesch January 9 1970 June 23 2025

obituaries notice Brian VanHeesch January 9 1970 June 23 2025

We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Brian VanHeesch January 9 1970 June 23 2025  and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.