John Heynen

1938 ~ 2017

Mr. John Heynen of Lethbridge, beloved husband of the late Mrs. Alice Heynen, passed into the presence of his Lord on Saturday, August 12, 2017 at the age of 78 years.

John was predeceased by his parents Gerard and Grace; siblings Marijng, Joop, Klaas, and Cor Heynen; and his loving wife Alice Heynen.

Left to mourn are his daughter Carol of Lethbridge, AB; son Christopher (Yael Greenfeld) and grandson Isaac of Squamish, BC; sister Lanie Olislager of Calgary, AB; brothers Gordon (Anna) Heynen of Cudworth, SK and Jack (Vangie) Heynen of Calgary, AB; sister-in-law Ursula Heynen of Whitehorse, YT; as well as many nieces and nephews.

John was the second youngest of eight children, born in Hengelo, The Netherlands on November 15, 1938. At fourteen, he immigrated with his family to Canada where they settled in Lethbridge, AB. At nineteen, he moved with his parents to Whitehorse, YT to work at his brother, Klaas’ garage. It was there, on a riverboat cruise, that he met his wife, Alice. They married in 1965 and settled in Lethbridge, AB where John worked at Chinook Stationers in sales and servicing office equipment. In 1974, his daughter Carol was born, followed two years later by his son, Christopher. In 1983, John embarked on a new career as a life underwriter and financial advisor where he worked for 30 years until his retirement in 2013. John had many hobbies, his most passionate being birds. He began keeping pigeons as a child, but soon moved on to budgies, then canaries and finches. He taught himself to play guitar and sang in a quartet with his brothers, as well as performed in a number of bands around Whitehorse and Lethbridge before having children. He loved singing in church, gardening, painting watercolours, traveling, a good meal, and he loved to make people laugh. He was an active member of First Baptist Church, Lethbridge since 1966 and was a devoted husband and father.

An Interment will be held at 1:00pm on Saturday, August 19, 2017 at the Mountain View Cemetery, 1210 Scenic Dr S, Lethbridge, Alberta.

A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, August 19, 2017 at FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, 1614 - 5 Avenue South, Lethbridge, Alberta, with Dr. Bruce Martin officiating