Of Guelph/Eramosa passed away peacefully in his 81st year at Groves Memorial Hospital after a battle with cancer. Peter is survived by his wife of 56 years Georgina and was a loving father to his 3 children, Sarah Wilson (Trevor Roberts) of Arthur, Rebecca Roberts of Belwood, and Peter Jr. of Midland. His legacy also includes 5 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. He will also be missed by his surviving siblings Leo (Carol) of Guelph, John (Marlene) of Guelph, Adrian (Ruth) of Durham and Marie Thomson of Wingham and sister-in-law Yvonne Heyden of Acton, and many nieces and nephews. Peter is predeceased by his brother Harry, of Acton, and parents Wilhelmus and Petronella Van Der Heijden, of Rockwood. Following his wishes, cremation has taken place and a celebration of life is planned for summer 2023. Peter and his family immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in 1948 to Kenilworth. After a couple years the family moved to Rockwood where after the death of his mother, William raised a family of 5 boys and 1 girl. Peter found himself learning life skills as a teenager in the 50’s such as digging Gladiola bulbs, working as a farm hand for Max Storey and Byron and Blanche Bruce. Peter became very fond of Blanche Bruce as somewhat of a “surrogate” mother. In the 60’s, Peter met and married his wife of 56 years, Georgina Wragg. Peter started his family while working for Hart Chemical in Guelph. This company changed names a few times while he was employed there for 40 years until his retirement in 2002. Pete and Jo farmed their first small farm near Ospringe then purchased a larger farm in Guelph/Eramosa which they farmed until his retirement in 2002 and resided until his death. In his retirement, they made many trips around North America and he was able to make an extended holiday to Europe including an extended visit with family in his birth country. There are few places that he didn’t have an interest in seeing. One of his last pieces of advice was to go out and travel. “You don’t know when you won’t be able to anymore”. Special thank you to Closing the Gap, Paramed and Bayshore for the many people who assisted us in keeping Peter at home as long as possible as he wished. Many thanks also to the nursing team at Groves Memorial for making Peter so comfortable in his final days. The compassion and caring shown to us was unparalleled.
