Bestest Opa Ever

My Opa has died. Sorry for the lack of buildup on that one, but its true. at about 3am on Friday morning my Opa passed. He had been diagnosed with bad cancer (lymphoma I think) about a year ago, on top of a few other side effects of old age and it was a pretty steady downhill run for there. He was a pretty proud guy and its probably for the best that it wasn't more drawn out. I last saw him at my cousin Sara's wedding in August, and while still very coherent he did struggle quite a bit without his oxygen and he wasn't in great shape.But he was there. and Mitch and I made sure he was able to see everyone and enjoy the ceremony (We were on wheelchair duty). I don't know a ton about his life, but what I do know is.

• He was 84
• Born in Wijk bij Duurstede, Utrecht, Netherlands
• Moved to Canada to be a farmer and own land when he was 28
• Married just a month before he left for Canada
• Became a citizen 13 years later, in 1967
• Bought a dairy farm in 1968
• Built a big farm house, and planted an apple orchard in 1979
• Had 9 kids with his wife before she died in 1991
• Married my Mom's Mom shortly after his first wife died
• Worked just about every minute of every day
• Loved his porridge

He was a pretty huge guy, probably 6 foot 7 with like size 17 shoes. But despite his stature he was a very, very gentle and soft spoken guy. Never had much to say, and you had to pay attention when he was talking! I struggled for the first few years after he and Grandma got married to understand him. and then I was pretty good for maybe 10 years. and then in the last few years he became a little hard to understand again. haha. but what do you do? He's your Opa - and you gotta do your best! For years and years ever summer we would go up to the farm to stay with Grandma and Opa for a week. to help out on the farm, to run wild in somewhere new and interesting, and to fish in the pond. I always loved those weeks. I looked forward to them all summer long and then to next year once they happened! There was always soo much to do! I loved to fish in the pond, and I would spend days on days out there. I loved it. I would pack up my stuff when it was time to go home and carry it out to the pond with me so that when mom showed up I could just come running at the last minute and not miss out on any fishing. haha. I remember one day we were fishing and opa was there helping us, and it started to rain. and opa told us this was a good thing for the fish. and sure enough the fish started jumping and we started catching them faster than we could handle. Opa would help us take the fish off the hook and put on more corn and as soon as we cast out, we would have another one. I dont really know why I remember that. maybe the rain and the fishing and the catching so many - im not sure. but it was neat. Ill probably remember that afternoon for years and years to come. Anywho, I could probably tell stories for days - but the summary is I will miss him. He was a pretty great Opa to us and I loved him, and I'll miss him. and all things considered we all gotta go sometime, it was his, and its for the best. We are going to the visitation today to see my Grandma, and fingers crossed she is doing ok. Its been a pretty exhausting many months for her, and it being over isn't really the kind of end you're looking for. but shes a pretty tough girl - so I got a feeling she will be 100% in no time. Anyway, rest in peace Opa - we will all miss you.