John's biography
Jan Wassing was born Apr.
4, 1926 on Godlinzerweg, Leermens, county 'tZands,Groningen, Holland. He was the 2nd child and the first son of Barteld Wassing and Johanna
Wassing (nee Mulder) with
ten more children to follow, it was a busy family with lots of chores to do. Jan went to school like his sister and the following
year with brother Mans, then Arnold and then Dirk. Jan and Mans were always together and were good friends. The family ran
a produce farm, and Jan had to help out at an early age. Jan as a teen
decided he did not want to work
in the garden or the fields, like his Dad, and started working
in a smitty in Zeerijp, Groningen, a neighboring town .
During the war years, Jan and
Mans often went out looking for wood and trying to get some meat for the family. Towards the
end of the war
he had to hide for fear of being picked up by the Germans, to work, digging ditches or trenches.
After the war, Jan joined the Dutch navy and served
5 years working in the engine room on board his ship, a job he thoroughly enjoyed, during which he travelled throughout the
Pacific, but mostly in the Indonesia area. On one
of his trips back to Holland (about 1947, he met Jannie Heuvelman. The couple stayed in contact during Janʼs absence
and married in a triple wedding with his sister Trijn and brother Mans May 4, 1951.
Shortly
after the wedding, Jan & Jannie left Holland with
most of Janʼs family to emigrate to Canada.
The family arrived in Halifax and took the train to Winnipeg,
Manitoba where they had
been placed to work on the Edyʼs farm for a minimum of 1 years. They stayed there for 2 years
and then again with most of the family moved to Ontario. Jan now called John, his Dad and some of the younger ones went by
car. Jannie, now called Jenny went with the baby and the rest of the family by train. John and Jenny went to Wallaceburg and
then to Floradale to live, John all the time working in a garage as a mechanic in Elmira. Eventually they moved to Kitchener, where John
managed Towne Automotive in Waterloo. His
careeer as an educator started
with a customer who was so impressed with his work that he hired him to work
at the University
of Waterloo. After endless courses which resulted in diplomas,
certificates and degrees, John became the
Coordinator of Chemical
Engineering at the University - a job that involved both research and teaching.
In the early
80ʼs he presented one of his projects at the International Trade
Show in Florida for the University.
John and Jenny had three more children, Joanne born in 1955 and twins;
Margaret and Arnold were born
in 1958.
The family travelled back to Manitoba to visit both Johnʼs family, who still lived
there and Jennyʼs family who arrived in Winnipeg in the late 50ʼs. Members of
Johnʼs
family followed to Southern Ontario between the 50ʼs and 60ʼs.
Whenever brothers or sisters arrived and
needing a place to stay, room would
always be found for them in John & Jennyʼs home with 3 of the
younger
brothers staying as long as 5 years - 2 of them until they married.
John and Jenny
began attending the Christian Reformed Church when they
arrived in Kitchener and continued as regular members
of the denomination in
whatever community they lived from that point on. John and then later Jenny
sang for
many years in the church choirs.
John was very involved in the Holland Canada Club in Galt from the early
“60ʼs
to the mid 70ʼs. Many of their friends were made at the dances, picnics and
functions
arranged by the club. He was on a committee which raised money
amoung Dutch immigrants to buy an organ for
the Parliament building in Ottawa
to commemorate the25th anniversay of the liberation of Holland. He and
Jenny
attended the ceremony in Ottawa when it was presented
John played organized soccer in Holland and
continued playing and coaching
into the late 80ʼs. Some of his most colourful stories involved games that
involved
both himself and his younger brothers; Steve and Harko.
John & Jenny were devoted to both their children
and their extended family.
Throughout their lives, they travelled and visited everyone providing the “glue”
that held the family together. Whenever a family member was in need they
knew that John would be
there to help in some way, even it was just advice - but
often became much more.
In the 70ʼs
and 80ʼs the children all married and 9 grandchildren arrived on the
scene. John & Jenny travelled
to Holland every few years and later spent
several weeks in the “warmer “ states for at least
a month in the winter.
John retired from the University of Waterloo in 1988 after which they began to
spend entire
winters in Texas and also made frequent trips to Europe and
across Canada to visit family. Relatives spread from
a brother in Radium Hot Springs, BC to
their youngest son, Arnold and his family in Newfoundland. His
hobby was
woodworking and he shared the results of his craft with everyone in the family
from his
brothers and sisters to the youngest great grandchild - there are 14 and
counting!!
After 2001, John
and Jenny spent most of their time in their little house in Grand
Bend - Grand Cove Estates - a seniorʼs
community where they were involved in
organized games like carpet bowling, darts, eucher.. The community has
a
pool, garden plots, wood working shop etc etc. Lots to keep them busy and they
were. The family often
arranged our visits to fit in to their schedule!! The
community is also a short walk from the beach where
John and Jenny spent
long hours just walking and enjoying sunsets.
Of course they continued to travel with occassional
trips to Florida or Texas for a
month or 2, to Fort McMurray or Newfoundland to see son Arnold and his
wife
Rita or to Holland to see brother Mans and sister Trijn.
If I had to choose a theme for John, it
would be family - all of us, from
Jenny and his kids to his youngest great grandchild and his brothers and
sisters.
He died August 9, 2010 and on his last day on earth, despite his suffering, he
wanted nothing
more than to be surrounded by his family.
