WILLIAMSBURG -- Marten Verburg, 95, of Iroquois, died suddenly at his home on June 20, 2004.
He was born June 8, 1909, in Zevenhoven, Netherlands, to Nicolaas Verburg and the former Jacoba Vanharten. He married Klara Tibben on December 1, 1933 in Dedemsvaart, Netherlands.
In 1952 the Verburgs and their family immigrated to Canada. They lived in Saskatoon for four years before moving to Iroquois in 1956. Mr. Verburg was a farmer until his retirement. He moved to the village of Iroquois 28 years ago.
He was a founding member and elder of the Christian Reformed Church in Saskatoon. He was a member and elder of the Community Christian Reformed Church in Dixon's Corners and was a founding member of the Timothy Christian School in Williamsburg.
His life revolved around his family and church. He also loved to read and garden.
Mr. Verburg is survived by 10 children, Joyce Bosman and husband Bert of Ottawa; Ann Doppenberg and husband Jerry of Yarrow, B.C.; Lena Vandenakerboom and husband Joe of Rocky Mountain House, Alta.; Nick and wife Jackie of Athens; Harma Verbruggen and husband Len of St. Catharines; Henry Verburg of Belleville; Jenny Devries of Brampton; Wilma Bronsema and husband Ben of Bowmanville; Marten Verburg and wife Susan of RR 2, Iroquois; and Minny Verburg of Belleville.
Also surviving are two brothers, Goris and Arie Verburg, both of Holland, 33 grandchildren, 68 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his wife Klara on August 4, 1999, and by four brothers and four sisters in Holland.
A private family service was held June 23 at the graveside at New Union Cemetery in Williamsburg, with Rev. Clarence Witten officiating. A memorial service was held immediately after, at the Community Christian Reformed Church in Dixon's Corners.
Memorial donations were directed to the Timothy Christian School.
Patrick Freeman, 47
Patrick Alphonsus "Pat" Freeman, the 47-year-old principal of St. Joseph's School in Toledo, died suddenly on May 22, 2004 as the result of a heart attack.
He was born on December 4, 1956 to Hubert Patrick Freeman and the former Mary Leona McNamee and lived most of his life in Toledo, the village he loved.
He attended St. Joseph's and Athens District High School and received his bachelor of arts from Carleton University and his bachelor of education from Queen's University in Kingston.
Upon graduation he joined the staff of St. Joseph's in the same year his mother retireed from the school. He was predeceased by his father in 1981 and his mother in 1997.
He married his wife, the former Cindy Severson, in 1982 and they built their home in Toledo across the street from St. Joseph's, the school that played such an important part throughout his life. The couple were raising their five children - Caitlin, 20, Bronwyn, 19, John, 16, Siobhan, 12 and Roddy, 9 - according to their lifelong beliefs in the importance of family, church, community and friends.
During two tenures as principal of St. Joseph's, Mr. Freeman became widely known for his intense lobbying for additional staff and resources for his ever-growing rural school. He would simply not accept that his staff and students were undeserving of the same educational advantages of larger, more urban schools.
The school's newsletters were widely read as they detailed the accomplishments, both great and small, of the students. He visited each student's classroom to sing Happy Birthday to him/her on that special day and even sometimes did the special St. Joe's Birthday Dance.
He and his family were very active in the parish activities of St. Philip Neri Roman Catholic Church in Toledo and, along with a number of other young families in the village, helped organize many social and community activities that enhanced the lives of all in the Toledo area.
He possessed a razor-sharp wit and was one of the Toronto Maple Leafs' biggest fans.
In addition to his wife Cindy and their children, he is survived by his sister Maureen Yandon and husband John of Ottawa and his four brothers, Tom of Toledo, Dennis and wife Kathleen of Toronto, Joe and wife Ruth of Newmarket, and Kevin and wife Cindy of Brockville. He was fond of his many nephews and his nieces and enjoyed playing euchre and repeating the dialogue from his favorite episodes of The Simpsons with them.
Also surviving are his mother-in-law, Sylvia Severson of Domville, his sister-in-law, Susan Alkerton and husband Darcy of Roebuck, his brothers-in-law John Severson and wife Lisa of Domville and Randy and wife Darlene of Easton's Corners. He was predeceased by his father-in-law Raymond Severson.
More than 1, 300 friends signed the remembrance book at the Blair and Sons Funeral Home in Smiths Falls.
His funeral was attended by more than 600 people who jammed St. Philip Neri and the nearby St. Andrew's United Church and church hall. On hearing of his tragic death, the congregation of St. Andrew's immediately volunteered their time and facilities to help accommodate the anticipated crowd. Audio and video links were established between the two buildings so that as many people as possible could participate in the celebration of Mr. Freeman's life.
The funeral mass was led by Father Robert Chisholm, the parish priest at St. Philip Neri, and was concelebrated by Mr. Freeman's cousins Archbishop Francis Spence and Father Dan Ryan; Father Rod McNeil, son Roddy's namesake and a special friend of the family; Msgr. Patrick Carty, Father Sebastian Amato, Father Michael McCarthy, Father Stan Alanen and Father Pierre Champoux.
Two honour guards - one made up of senior students from St. Joseph's and the other of principals from schools within the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario - greeted the funeral procession as it entered the chuch.
Burial was in St. Philip Neri parish cemetery overlooking Bellamy's Lake. The pallbearers were his brother Tom, his sons John and Roddy, and his nephews Michael, Matthew, Alex and Colin Freeman.
Joseph Sarac, 90
Joseph Sarac, 90, a retired businessman, died April 6, 2004 at St. Lawrence Lodge.
He was born in Croatia on December 13, 1913. In his youth he was an ardent soccer player, playing for Hajduk, one of the best teams in Croatia. He also enjoyed playing chess, winning the city championship in Osijek, Croatia.
On leaving school he apprenticed with a shoemaker and graduated with honours as a master shoemaker.
Mr. Sarac served in the national guard during the Second World War.
He owned his own shoemaking shop and was an innovator, designing much of his own equipment.
He displayed his work in a number of trade shows, his highest achievement being a prize at the Vienna World's Fair in 1957.
In September 1957, he and his wife Maria and their children came to Canada, settling in Ottawa.
Mr. Sarac opened a shoe repair shop there and later opened similar shops in Eastview, Belleville and Brockville.
He moved to Brockville in 1969, where he lived until his death. He enjoyed both photography and film making.
Mr. Sarac is survived by his wife of 65 years, Maria Sarac of Brockville, and three sons, Zvonko "Von" Sarac of Telkwa, B.C., Zdenko Sarac and Damir Sarac.
Also surviving are his daughter-in-law Joanne Sarac of Ottawa, grandson Danny Sarac, and niece Zlata Reiter of Bruchsal, Germany.
He was predeceased by his parents and daughter-in-law Bea Sarac.
The funeral was held April 12 in the Irvine Funeral Home Chapel, Brockville, with Father Brian Price officiating. Cremation at Roselawn Crematorium, Maitland, was followed by burial at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, just west of Brockville.
Memorial donations were directed to the Alzheimer Society of Leeds and Grenville.
Laurel Clow, 46
Laurel Mildred Clow, 46, who worked for the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, died of cancer August 10, 2002 at Ottawa General Hospital.
Born October 14, 1955 at the family homestead at RR 4, Brockville, she was the first child of Edgar Clow and his wife, the former Mildred Parslow, who survive their daughter.
She was educated in the former SS No. 11 Public School, later at New Dublin school and finally at Thousand Islands Secondary School in Brockville. She pursued her education at the University of Ottawa, from which she graduated magna cum laude in 1979 with a Bachelor of Law degree.
She completed her bar admission course in February 1981 and was called to the bar in April. She spent a year as a solicitor with the Council on the Status of Women and in 1982 joined the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, advancing to be director general of litigation, the position she held at the time of her death.
She married Michel Perron in Wall Street United Church, Brockville, on August 9, 1980 and started her family. She and her husband lived in Orleans, then moved in 1984 to Cumberland Township where they had built a house. Over the years, the family took a marked interest in the Cumberland Heritage Museum.
Ms. Clow travelled extensively in the course of her career - from Nain, Labrador to Norman Wells, Yukon, and frequently to Vancouver, B.C. - maintaining good relations with all her clients. Her professional opinion was sought out and followed on all difficult issues.
She was a role model to those with whom she worked. She was described by one colleague as being "as bright as the day was long" and as a "salt of the earth" type of person.
She loved to travel and in 1992, as a break in her routine, she and her children travelled to France with her husband Michel, who was representating the federal government's department of natural resources at the Francophonie Conference in Bordeaux. She continued to travel all her life.
An avid gardener, she loved the outdoors and beauty in general. She had a great love of life, a generous spirit, a strong sense of fairness and an infectious laugh.
Besides her parents, Mildred and Edgar Clow, of RR 4, Brockville, she is survived by her husband Michel Perron, of Cumberland, son Jonathan and daughter Emelie, brother Rod Clow, of RR 4, Brockville, and sister Meribeth Clow, now of Bradford.
The funeral was held August 13 at St. Andrew's United Church in Cumberland. Rev. J. Leyland officiated. Burial followed at Dales Cemetery, Cumberland.
The pallbearers were family friend John King and brothers-in-law Luke Perron, Andre Perron, Lloyd Emerson, Bill Mazie and Wes Rochester.
Memorial donations to the Canadian Cancer Society, Myasthenia Research and the Canadian Diabetes Association are gratefully acknowledged by the family.
Arrangements were entrusted to the Heritage Funeral Home in Orleans.
Annie Bain Turner, 93
ATHENS -- Annie Bain Turner, 93, a native of Scotland, died August 31, 2002 at Brockville General Hospital. She had lived at Bridlewood Manor for the past eight years.
She was born March 26, 1909 in a big, stone house at 26 Nicolson Street, Wick, Caithness, Scotland, one of 11 children of Alexander Duchart and the former Rachel MacKay.
In 1926 she left Scotland for Canada, traveling with her sister Barbara and her sister's husband Jim McKay. As the ship sailed out, her cousins in Leith waved their goodbyes, to her delight. She arrived at Quebec City in June 1926 and boarded the train for Toronto.
She met Leslie Rishmon Turner at Lake Simcoe and they were married in Toronto, their marriage lasting for 53 years before his death in Panama City, Fla., in 1989. They enjoyed all their summers together at Lake Simcoe with their sons and other family members.
She loved to knit, bake, read and play Scrabble. Everything her husband Les grew in his garden she preserved, and she was a gracious hostess.
The most important part of her life was her family, including nieces and nephews here and in Scotland.
She is survived by two sons, Neil and wife Rose and John and wife Helen; grandchildren Rhonda, Janeen, Daren, Andrew and Lianne and great-grandchildren Alexander and Sarah; and several nieces and nephews: Sandy, James and David Mackay in Toronto; Kathleen and Roddy and Ian and Marjorie of Wick, Caithness; Rona and John and Ann and Dan of Aberdeenshire and Annabel and David of Edinburgh.
The funeral was held September 3 in the chapel of the Judson Funeral Home, Athens. Burial took place the following day at Westminster Memorial Park, Toronto.
