Leonard Adrian Vanderlaan
August 12, 1928 - May 29, 2006
Leonard Adrian Vanderlaan, a retired dairy farmer of Cloverdale,
passed away suddenly at home. He was 77.
He was the beloved husband of 49 years of Mary (nee Spruit). He
was the loving and caring father of eight children: Tony (Ruth)
of Winchester Springs, Wilma (friend Al) of Toronto, Leo (Angèle)
of Greely, Connie (Jim McDiarmid) of Osgoode, Wendy (Mark Patterson)
of Metcalfe, John (Cassey) of Crysler, Marianne of Winchester,
and Linda (David Bisbee) of Burlington. He was the proud Opa of
16 grandchildren: Josh, Jessica, Josie, Jed, and Jannah Vanderlaan;
Anya and Adrianna Vanderlaan; David, Craig, Trevor, and Garrett
McDiarmid; Carly, Mauve, and Lane Patterson and; Aidan and Rhiannon
Bisbee. He is survived by brothers Wim and Bep, and sister Alida
of Holland. He was predeceased by his parents and brothers Toon
and Jos, and sister Riet, also of Holland. He is also survived
by many nieces and nephews in Holland, Arizona, and Canada.
The funeral was held on June 2 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in
Chesterville. The pallbearers were sons Tony, Leo, and John, and
sons-in-law Jim McDiarmid, Mark Patterson, and David Bisbee.
There are so many great memories of Dad and that is what we as
a family have been talking about and hearing about this past week.
On one hand, we can be tremendously saddened by the news, but
on the other, Dad would want us to celebrate his life and reflect
on the good times. At the end of the day, Dad lived a long, happy
life with more ups than downs and many, many good times with family,
friends, and neighbors.