John Harm Brouwer

The man that was larger than life unexpectedly lost the last of his "9 lives" with his wife Louise by his side. Since John immigrated from the Netherlands, he lived in Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, and Claremont. John was creative, warm-hearted, and made us laugh every day. He had boundless energy and determination and was always up for any challenge. He dreamed large and thought all was possible. John loved animals, designing and creating with nature, and was at his best working outdoors with his hands in the dirt and his shirt off. He never stopped. His vitality and zest for life will be greatly missed by all who knew him. He is survived by Louise, son John (Darlene), son James (Lynda), and grandchildren Jack, Ella, Melissa, and Adam. He also leaves behind his brother Harm (Tineke), and sister Henny (Berend) and nieces and nephews all residing in The Netherlands; and his Canadian born brothers and sisters-in-law, his 22 nieces and nephews and their spouses and children. We love you and will miss you always.
Personal thoughts from his son John: My Dad was a teacher of life. He taught me right from wrong, black from white. He taught me a thousand trade related lessons and a million life lessons. I will get through this because of the multitude of lessons on how to live this life with a smile on my face. My Dad was unshakable. Always upbeat, always an optimist, always up for whatever life presented, never down. A true mentor. Darlene and I and our children always looked forward to our visits with Opa and Louise. He will be truly missed and NEVER FORGOTTEN!!
Personal thoughts from his sister Henny in The Netherlands: Jan was born during the second World War in Baarn. Our parents thought that it would be safer not to stay in Rotterdam after the bombing in May. So, our grandparents and other relatives were very willing to take in these young parents with son Harm who was called Hansje at that time.
After a year his sister Henny was born in Rotterdam. This little age difference was not always easy, and times were difficult for everybody. Thanks to our father’s efforts I have no recollection of being hungry. On his old bike our father made a lot of trips to our relatives who were mostly farmers. So, food was provided for eating and exchanging stuff. Our father was a teacher. Thanks to his contacts with the parents of his pupils he could buy an old little bicycle for Jan and me. This was a cause of a lot of quarrels between Jan and me because we both wanted to play with that little bike. My two brothers had very interesting occupations as to leap over ditches and setting fire to junk nearby a police-station and running away for not to getting caught. They considered me as “that little girl”. Later, they became more interested in including their sister. We moved to Naarden because our father took a job in Amsterdam. We really liked it there. There was quite a large garden. Jan was the one that took care of mowing the lawn and my parents did leave a lot to him concerning the garden. I think that Jan’s love for gardening is born right there. Jan went to a school in Boskoop to become a nurseryman. There were a lot of sons from nursery families. With a father who was a teacher it would be difficult to start a business in that sector. The adventure of the big wide world was very attractive. So off he went to Canada….. Thanks to his will-power he made a success of his business. The Canadian part of his life you know. When he became sixty we visited him. Louise kept it as a surprise that Harm and Tineke and me, his little sister, with my husband Berend would congratulate him in person. That is when the pictures were taken. with love, Jan’s “little" sister Henny Having a brother like him is something I am very proud of. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.