Martina VAN DER ZWAN

OBITUARY MARTINA (VAN DER ZWAN) DE JONG Wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, our heroine. Born June 27, 1914 in Scheveningen, Holland; Deceased June 25, 2007. North Vancouver B.C. Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves And Immortality. We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put away My labor, and my leisure too, For his civility. Martina lived just two days short of her ninety-third birthday. She would have been proud. Martina married her lifelong partner Albert de Jong in the old church in Scheveningen, Holland on July 22, 1936. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in White Rock, B.C. where they had retired. Albert predeceased Martina by only four months. They had a long full-shared life. Martina was predeceased by her Mother Adriana (Harteveld) van der Zwan, Father Willem van der Zwan, Sisters: Whilhelmina (South Africa), Johanna (Holland), Alida (Holland), Brother: Willem (Holland). She is survived by her Sisters: Cornelia (Holland), Adriana (Australia), Tonia (Holland), Brothers: Jakob (Holland), Johannes (Holland). Martina has four surviving sons Jack, John, Adriaan, and Gary and as our mother said, even more desirable, her five daughters (in Law) and partners: Jacqueline Auclair, Noreen Christoffer, Lise Bissette, Barbara Nelson and Patricia Ruiz for whom our mother had great affection especially since she did not have any daughters herself. In addition she has twelve grand and great-grandchildren all of which she loved dearly. Martina's early life was marked by the great depression and the second world war. During the war she had to go to great effort to support her family particularly in 1944 when all normal life's needs such as: food, clothing, fuel, etc were hard to come by. She also supported and hid a Jewish child during this time. The older boys well remember the girl dressed as a boy while living with us in Amsterdam during the winter of 1944. It was not uncommon to have other youngsters in the house and it seemed our mother always found someone in need of help. In May 1951 Martina and her husband, Albert and the three boys boarded the HMS Volendam in Rotterdam and immigrated to Canada. They settled in Montreal where they had their fourth son Gary. They lived there until Albert's retirement in 1977, when they moved to White Rock, BC. There they purchased a new house, which was to become our mother's castle for almost thirty years. We fondly remember her cooking, family reunions, and especially her caring and keeping in touch with everyone she loved. We will miss her phone calls and letters. The Family would like to thank all those who assisted Martina during the last months of her life especially the assisted living employees at Cedar Lodge in North Vancouver. A private family reunion to celebrate Martina and Albert's life will be held later. Published in the Montreal Gazette from 8/4/2007 - 8/11/2007