Pieter Jan “Piet” Wyminga died peacefully at Wellington Terrace in Fergus, Ontario on September 27, 2013 surrounded by his loving family.

Pieter was born in Holland on June 16, 1933 to Jan Pieter and Cornelia Wijmenga, younger brother to Marijke and Els.

Pieter survived the German occupation of the Netherlands in WWII and fondly remembered the liberation by Canadian troops. This motivated him to immigrate to Canada in 1959, where, in Hamilton, Ontario, he met his wife Anne of 53 years on a blind date. Pieter and Anne lived together in London, Ottawa, Toronto, Unionville, and moved to a farm in Colborne where he followed his dream by starting Pieter’s Appleyard. He enjoyed many years being an elder at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Don Mills, playing for the Toronto Field Hockey Club, serving as president of the Unionville Tennis Club, as a founding member of the ‘Apple Route’ executive in Northumberland County, singing with the Northumberland Orchestra and Choir in Cobourg and as a lifelong member of the Friday Afternoon Train Society. He and Anne later moved to Guelph where they attended Harcourt Memorial United Church and appreciated many concerts by the Guelph Chamber Choir and time with their grandchildren. Pieter spent the last two years at Wellington Terrace in Fergus, where he received exceptional and loving care during the latter stages of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Pieter lived his life with meaning and integrity and gave his distinct sense of perseverance and passion to everything he embraced. He loved music, his farm, and the people that surrounded him. Pieter always left a lasting impression on those fortunate enough to know him.

Pieter will be greatly missed by sister Els; wife Anne; children Jon (Shannon), Bill (Sue), Paul (Toby), and Lynn (Owen); and his grandchildren, Shelby, Joelle, Pieter, Bowen, Parry, Annie, Roel and Berend. He was a favourite uncle and great uncle to many nieces and nephews in Canada and the Netherlands.

A Memorial service is to be held at Harcourt Memorial United Church (www.harcourtuc.ca) on 87 Dean Avenue in Guelph, Ontario on Friday, October 4 at 2 p.m. with funeral arrangements by Graham A. Giddy Funeral Home in Fergus, Ontario. To contribute memories online, please visit www.grahamgiddyfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Amnesty International, Wellington Terrace in Fergus, and Harcourt Memorial United Church in Guelph.