In Celebration of
Lucia Geertruida Maria ten Kortenaar (nee Buwalda)
March 8, 1927 -
July 19, 2019
Lucy (Luus) passed away peacefully at the Grenadier Retirement home in Toronto on Friday, July 19th.
She was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and came to Canada via Curaçao in 1951 after working for two years in a blood research clinic there. She was predeceased by Tony (Toon), her husband of sixty-five years, and her daughter Lucia.
After Lucy had gone to Curaçao on a three year work contract, Tony (Toon)received a contract to work for the Oriental Carpet department at the College Street Store of the T. Eaton Company in Toronto and the decision was made to get married and start life anew in Canada. Lucy managed to buy her way out of the final year of her contract in Curaçao. To facilitate her eventual emigration to Canada, Tony and Lucy were married by proxy in Amsterdam City Hall with Lucy's sister Els standing in for Lucy and wearing one of her gloves at the ceremony. When they were finally reunited Tony and Lucy were married again in the St. John's Chapel of St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto in 1951.
Lucy was mother to Mary-Anna (David), Annette (Paul), Anthony (Angela), Jef (Monique), Lucia, and Philip (Heather). She was Oma to Monica (Steve), Adrian (Monika), Mathew, Alexander (Ashlea), Christopher (Christiane), Elizabeth (Matthew), Michael, Rebecca (Timothy), Alexandra, Marc Anthony, Lukas (Brittany), Simone (Matthew), Martin, Thomas and Liam. And a dear Oma (ten) to Frederick, Coraline, Ayda, Noah, Joel and Maeve.
She grew up in Amsterdam with a love of classical music and an insatiable desire for learning. Her wartime experiences in Amsterdam had a lasting effect on her outlook on life and her concern for others. Her feisty spirit will be missed as will her great cooking skills, and her love of gardening.
Her funeral will be held at St Joan of Arc Church, 1701 Bloor St W, Toronto , ON M6P 1B1, on August 22 at 11am followed by a reception in the parish hall. In lieu of flowers, donations to the St Joan of Arc Building Fund in Lucy's memory will be gratefully appreciated.