JANNETJE EYER

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JANNETJE EYER January 21, 1927 - March 7, 2013 Peacefully, with her family by her side, Jannetje (Janny) Eyer passed away at the age of 86 years at the Riverview Hospital. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 63 years Antoon (Tony) who passed away on December 28, 2012, her mother, Geertrui, father, Jan, her two brothers Siep and Nico, and sister, Corrie. Janny will be sadly missed by her children John (Rita), Gertie (Doug), Jack (Roxie), Janet (Frank), and Tony (Karen) as well as her eleven grandchildren Erin, Ryan, Rob (Crystal), Carrie (Carey), Adam (Stephanie), Derek, Robyn, Evan, Trevor, Shaylyn, and Eric as well as her great grandchildren Brittney, Erica, and Isabelle. She will also be missed by her nephews and nieces who still live in Holland. Janny was born in Amsterdam, Holland, January 21, 1927, to Jan Buwalda and Geertrui Duijster. She was the youngest of the four children and made to feel very special as she was always included in everything that her big brothers and sister did, something she truly loved. Janny often talked fondly about this in later life. She had a special relationship with her nephew, Jan, too as they were very close in age. Her father was a supervisor on the railway and her mother a mid-wife and excellent housewife. Dutch families were so deeply affected when Holland was occupied in the Second World War. Janny, only a teenager at the time, learned the art of survival, however, it was a trait that lasted for the rest of her life. And although those times were very difficult, she recalled the good experiences as a result of families bonding and helping each other. She graduated from high school speaking five languages so it was very befitting that she be employed by KLM Airlines when the war was over. She met her Tony on a blind date and was married in 1949. In 1952, Tony, Janny, John and Gertie immigrated to Winnipeg. The other three children were born in Canada. Life in Winnipeg was very difficult with her husband Tony working three jobs to support his family and Janny assisting in so many of those ventures. Her favorite job was the one she had at the Winnipeg Squash and Racquet Club where the family's long time close friend, Herman De Vries, was her boss. Herman and his wife, Clara, were such supportive friends of the Eyer family. She will always be remembered by her family as being fun-loving, social, of very sharp intelligence, and a great conversationalist sharing her experiences growing up on the other side of the ocean. She loved to travel, as did Tony, so trips back to Holland to visit family were frequent. It is difficult to describe Janny without mentioning her husband Tony as well, as their lives were so intertwined and in fact, Tony was the one who kept her alive for 16 years after she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 70. And although her family has always been the centre of Janny's life, without her Tony, Janny's energy to keep fighting the uphill battle of her illness became less. On the evening of March 7, 2013, Janny decided it was time to join Antoon, her loving husband of 63 years. The family would like to thank Dr. Stephenson and Dr. Derksen, the wonderful staff of the Riverview Health Center, three in particular, Marlene, Helen and Manivan, and from the Palliative Home Care Program nurse, Jadwiga. A memorial service of Jannetje's life will take place on Thursday, March 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Chapel Lawn, 4000 Portage Avenue. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Riverview Health Centre. For those who wish to sign the online Guest Book please visit our website. Chapel Lawn www.chapellawn.ca 885-9715

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 09, 2013