Obituary for Adam Metselaar
METSELAAR, Adam Cornelis
Born in Boskoop, Holland
on July 23, 1927
Having lived a life of humility, love, kindness, generosity, and tremendous gratitude for the opportunity to immigrate from Holland following WWII to make a new life in Canada, Adam passed away on March 7, 2022, at age 94, at the Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital with his children by his side. Adam is survived by his loving family: his wife of 69 years, Corrie, daughter Jane Tisdale (John Stanbridge), and son Dave (Deb). Wonderful grandfather (“Opa”) to: Jay Tisdale (Amber), Jessa Tune (Ian), Adam Metselaar (Ashley), Andy Metselaar (Jenna) and Alexa Metselaar. Great-grandfather to: Hunter, Hannah, Liam, Toryn, Erik, and twins Aidan and Jake. Adam will be sadly missed by his sister Stien Dirkzwager (Hil), several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews – some residing in the Netherlands and others in Canada. Adam is predeceased by his parents Cornelis and Maria, and siblings Annie, Kees and Adriaan, as well as a sister-in-law and two brothers-in-law.
Adam served for two years in The Royal Netherlands Army, and was stationed in Indonesia. On his return to Holland, Adam fell in love and married Corrie, on February 27, 1953; one week later they boarded the ship, The Groote Beer, and sailed to Canada. Adam was employed for many years by The Borden Company, at the plants in Tillsonburg, Ingersoll, Belmont and London, by which point in time it was called Ault Foods Limited; he was very proud of the fact that in all his working career he only missed one day of work, due to a winter storm and being called by his employer and instructed to stay home. Upon his retirement Adam received a letter from “Ault” thanking him for his years of service and dedication, and which stated he had been “an exemplary employee and one we all can learn from”.
Adam was passionate about working in his yard and gardens, tinkering in the garage and basement building small projects, and teaching his grandchildren to play his favourite game, chess. Adam was a man of great integrity and simple pleasures (he so loved his daily cups of “lekker koffie”, enjoyed either at home or at Tim Hortons in the mall); he was extremely tidy and organized, and would label absolutely everything. Even though he didn’t know a single solitary thing about baseball, Adam would most often be seen “about town” wearing his Blue Jays ball cap. Anyone who knew Adam always said he was “such a nice/pleasant/friendly man”, and we, his family, are so very proud of the person he was; we will miss him greatly.
Ostrander’s Funeral Home Limited was entrusted with the cremation arrangements. A private service will occur in the spring at the graveside in the Tillsonburg Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Pink Pearl Foundation, which supports young women facing cancer (by mailing a cheque to P.O. Box 259, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, L0S 1J0, or online at pinkpearlfoundation.com/donate) or the Domestic Abuse Services Oxford (by mailing a cheque to 975 James Street, Woodstock, ON, N4S 0A5, or online at daso.ca/donate/).
Born in Boskoop, Holland
on July 23, 1927
Having lived a life of humility, love, kindness, generosity, and tremendous gratitude for the opportunity to immigrate from Holland following WWII to make a new life in Canada, Adam passed away on March 7, 2022, at age 94, at the Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital with his children by his side. Adam is survived by his loving family: his wife of 69 years, Corrie, daughter Jane Tisdale (John Stanbridge), and son Dave (Deb). Wonderful grandfather (“Opa”) to: Jay Tisdale (Amber), Jessa Tune (Ian), Adam Metselaar (Ashley), Andy Metselaar (Jenna) and Alexa Metselaar. Great-grandfather to: Hunter, Hannah, Liam, Toryn, Erik, and twins Aidan and Jake. Adam will be sadly missed by his sister Stien Dirkzwager (Hil), several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews – some residing in the Netherlands and others in Canada. Adam is predeceased by his parents Cornelis and Maria, and siblings Annie, Kees and Adriaan, as well as a sister-in-law and two brothers-in-law.
Adam served for two years in The Royal Netherlands Army, and was stationed in Indonesia. On his return to Holland, Adam fell in love and married Corrie, on February 27, 1953; one week later they boarded the ship, The Groote Beer, and sailed to Canada. Adam was employed for many years by The Borden Company, at the plants in Tillsonburg, Ingersoll, Belmont and London, by which point in time it was called Ault Foods Limited; he was very proud of the fact that in all his working career he only missed one day of work, due to a winter storm and being called by his employer and instructed to stay home. Upon his retirement Adam received a letter from “Ault” thanking him for his years of service and dedication, and which stated he had been “an exemplary employee and one we all can learn from”.
Adam was passionate about working in his yard and gardens, tinkering in the garage and basement building small projects, and teaching his grandchildren to play his favourite game, chess. Adam was a man of great integrity and simple pleasures (he so loved his daily cups of “lekker koffie”, enjoyed either at home or at Tim Hortons in the mall); he was extremely tidy and organized, and would label absolutely everything. Even though he didn’t know a single solitary thing about baseball, Adam would most often be seen “about town” wearing his Blue Jays ball cap. Anyone who knew Adam always said he was “such a nice/pleasant/friendly man”, and we, his family, are so very proud of the person he was; we will miss him greatly.
Ostrander’s Funeral Home Limited was entrusted with the cremation arrangements. A private service will occur in the spring at the graveside in the Tillsonburg Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Pink Pearl Foundation, which supports young women facing cancer (by mailing a cheque to P.O. Box 259, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, L0S 1J0, or online at pinkpearlfoundation.com/donate) or the Domestic Abuse Services Oxford (by mailing a cheque to 975 James Street, Woodstock, ON, N4S 0A5, or online at daso.ca/donate/).