Tribute

Elisabeth Aletta Van Eysinga, (nee Van de Pol), died in Penticton General Hospital of complications of pneumonia on Thursday, Oct 14, 2021. Family members were at her side during her brief illness. She was predeceased by her youngest daughter, Diana Flexhaug (1982), husband, Cas Van Eysinga (2004), and beloved son-in law, David Keppel-Jones (2021).

She leaves to cherish her memory her daughter Christa Keppel-Jones, and four sons Nanno (Angela), Ralph (Janet), Michael (Licinia), Roger (Sandy), 10 grand-children: Anthony (Mylène Godin) Keppel-Jones, Teresa (Greg) Kuntz, Ryan and Ashley Van Eysinga, Jayme (John) Redmond, Kelsey (Mark) Dobie, Eve (Sean) Carnegie, Marina, Ty and Nicholas Van Eysinga, 7 great-grand-children: Ella, Alyssa, Jaëlen, Nathaniel, Benjamin, Amy, David Elie and 5 great-great-grand-children.

Elisabeth (Betty) was born in Nunspeet, Netherlands on Dec 3, 1924, one of a large family of 10 children. She married Caspar Van Eysinga in May 1948. Her first two children were born in the Netherlands. Then, in 1953, like many Dutch families after WWII, they made the decision to emigrate to Canada. Their first home was in Unionville, Ontario but soon they moved to Wasaga Beach where they bult a new home and started a family business breeding exotic cage-birds. Within a few years their collection of birds, pheasants and other small animals became a local tourist attraction in the summer months and by the mid-1960’s the management of their collection of animals was formally taken over by the Ontario Zoological Society, with her husband Cas as the zoo director. During all these years, Betty, as she was known then, was busy raising her family (4 more children were added to the family during this time) and helping with the care of the birds and animals and with many of administration tasks in the zoo. Summer months were busy with zoo tours by school groups and tourists. Winter months were quieter but still required ongoing care of many animals ranging in size from very small birds and monkeys to large exotic animals like elephants and hippos.

In 1975 Betty and Cas left zoo life and moved to BC, settling first in Osoyoos, and later in Summerland. They started a new family business growing greenhouse plants for sale, especially cacti. After a few years they moved to larger greenhouse premises in Chilliwack, BC to be closer to the flower auction and markets in the Lower Mainland. In 1994 they retired from the greenhouse business and moved back to the Okanagan, settling in Oliver. For a few years Betty flexed her considerable baking talents creating tasty treats for her small teashop on the main street in Oliver. After her husband’s death in 2004, Elisabeth moved to Kamloops to live with her daughter, Christa. Then when her son-in-law’s health declined, the household moved to Penticton in 2019 to be closer to the family in the Okanagan. Although her mobility was hampered by arthritis and bad knees in later life, Elisabeth remained very alert and mentally active until her death. She loved watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy every night and could give the TV players a good run for their money in answering most of the questions on the show.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held for family and invited guests only, at 2 pm on Friday, Nov 12, 2021 at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Penticton, BC.  Attendance is limited due to Covid safety restrictions.

Condolences and tributes may be left for the family by visiting: nunes-pottinger.com

Elisabeth Van Eysinga Funeral Service – November 12, 2021