Obituary
In Loving Memory of
Wilma VanderWoude
of Edmonton, Alberta
Oct 10, 2024
On Thursday, October 10, 2024, Our Lord Jesus and Savior took Wilma home at the age of 96. She will be deeply and forever missed by her children: Jake (Ada) VanderWoude and their children, Seth (Melissa), Sara (Albert), and Erin (Jason). John (Shelley) VanderWoude and their children, Adam (Katie), Beverly (Tyler), and Nicole (Kenton). Fred VanderWoude and his children, Christopher (Carol), Jamie (Jason), and Andrea (Donovan). Rita (Allen) Tenhove and their children: Jayna (Jon), Mandy (Joel), Parker (Julie), Liana (Sean), and Jarin. She also leaves behind 32 much loved great-grandchildren. Wilma was pre-deceased by her husband, William in 2011; and daughter-in-law, Marian in 1999.
Wilma was born June of 1928, in Ureterp, Friesland, the Netherlands, to Jan and Sjoukje Mulder. She was the oldest child in a family of six. Her father and mother had a small farm, and times were tough with such a large family. When Wilma was around 10 years old, her mother who was only 34, died of cancer. Now Wilma, being the oldest of the 6 children, had to drop out of school to help raise this young family. Her dream of becoming a schoolteacher remained only a dream. In 1940 when WW2 started, life became even harder. Wilma was spinning her own wool on an old spinning wheel, knitting socks, and sewing clothes for the family. There were no pants available to buy so she would use her dad’s old pants to sew pants for her younger brothers. She would churn butter (which was illegal), in exchange for a spool of thread or some tea. When the war ended in 1945, peace came again! About 2 years later, Wilma met Bill (8 years older than her) at a youth rally. They married in the fall of 1951. Jake was born the next year, and in 1954 the young family immigrated to Canada. Wilma and Bill joined and attended 3rd Christian Reformed Church (now Inglewood). Three more children were born in the next years, John, Fred, and Rita. When the children were off to school, Wilma started helping the Ladies Auxiliary and did district visits for the church. She was good at organizing meals, cooking and serving, so she took a job at the Edmonton Inn Banquet Room. Later, she took a position selling candy at Woodwards Food Floor. Bill retired in 1985, and that's when the travelling began. Their favorite place was Hawaii, and they went 17 times. Also, Holland became a yearly event to spend time with family. Sometimes they travelled with no destination, and travelled all over Canada and the USA. Bill passed away in 2011. They were married for 60 years. She loved her family and all the visits from the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They would always bring a smile to her face, especially in the later years. One of Wilma's favorite places was sitting in the sun on her condo balcony over the river valley. Her view was spectacular, and she loved to watch vehicles, the river and the seasons change. She wanted to stay in her condo as long as she physically could and did just that. She spent the last 7.5 weeks of her life in hospital after getting Covid, not being able to get her strength back. She prayed every day to go to Heaven. The Lord answered her prayer on Oct 10/2024.
A Funeral Service celebrating Wilma’s life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 17, 2024, at Inglewood Christian Reformed Church, 12330 113 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB,T5M 2W4. If desired, Memorial Donations will be gratefully accepted for the Edmonton Society for Christian Education, 14304 - 109 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5N 1H6.