Jannetje Kok

On March 5, 2022 Jannetje “Janny” Kok, a loving Mother, Sister and Grandma and Great Grandma passed away at Douglas Campbell Lodge at the age of 93 years.

Janny will be lovingly remembered by her son Edzo (Fran); daughter Tieny (Michael) Kirchner; son Jake (Cindy); son-in-law Tom Moran; grandchildren: Mandy (Kevin), Tyler (Melissa), Todd (Colleen), Kyle (Sarah), Myles (Kent), and Justin (Laura); great-grandchildren:  Crosby, Reed, Cassandra, Riel, George, Kaisen, Tye and Soren. Each one of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren had a special place in her heart.  Janny was predeceased by her husband Jacobus; eldest daughter Betty Moran; mother Fetje de Wagt, sister Betje and brother Ken. Janny also leaves behind many in-laws and their extended family members.

Janny was born on December 28, 1928 in Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands. The eldest of seven children, born only minutes before her identical twin sister Hanny. Being the eldest of a large family she spent a lot of time helping to care for her younger siblings:  Betje, Greetje, Mieke, Ken and Fred. It was through this caring that led her to employment as a Nanny in her early years.

In 1946 Janny met the love of her life, our Dad. They were married on July 5, 1952 and enjoyed 64 years of marriage. Following their wedding, they immigrated to Canada and settled in Melville, Saskatchewan to join her new in-laws and brothers and sisters in-law. Along with the challenge of learning a new language in a new country and leaving her own family behind, Melville was the opportunity to begin their own family. Over the following twelve years two daughters and two sons were born, which Mom proudly referred to as her million dollar family. Janny was a proud, loving mother, caring for her family was most important to her. She was a talented cook and baker, making the best cookies, pies and buns, which she generously shared with all of us. There was always plenty to eat in her kitchen. Janny also loved crafting, knitting, cross stitching and sewing were her favourites, sharing the finished projects with all of her family to enjoy. After relocating to Portage la Prairie and the children grown, Janny used her sewing skills to gain employment outside the home, working at Richlu Sportswear for many years until retirement.

Janny loved most sports and in her youth she was a competitive swimmer. In retirement Janny loved watching baseball games, The Blue Jays being her favourite team. Both Janny and Jake travelled to Minneapolis on a few occasions to watch them play. She loved feeding and watching the birds and all dogs held a special place in her heart. Summers were spent tending her flower gardens, especially her roses and going camping and fishing. Winter time was for watching curling, she didn’t miss a game.

Your life was love and labour

Your love for your family true

You did your best for all of us

We will always remember you

A golden heart stopped beating

Loving heart and hands at rest

It broke our hearts to see you go

God only takes the best

The family will have a private celebration of Janny’s life this summer.

As expressions of sympathy, if friends so wish, donations may be made in Janny’s memory to The Breast Cancer Society of Canada, 415 Exmouth Street Unit # 101 Sarnia, ON N7T 8A4.

A tree will be planted in memory and cared for by McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel.  www.mckenziesportagefuneralchapel.com