IRENE VANDERPLAATS

Irene Vanderplaats, 90, beloved wife of the late Harry J. Vanderplaats, passed away Wednesday, July 22, 2015 at La Verendrye General Hospital in Fort Frances, Ont.
She is survived by her five children, Irene (Richard) Johnson of International Falls, Mn., Jake Vanderplaats (Sandy Selin) of Fort Frances, Ont., Anthony (Marcia) Vanderplaats of Prince George B.C., Christine (Ken) Hampton of Alberton, Ont., and Lucy (Ralph) Lahti of Alberton Ont.; nine grandchildren, Kathleen (John) Kallis of Roseau, Mn., Kellie (Kent) Wolf of Detroit Lakes, Mn., Adam (Jenni) Johnson of Pelican Rapids, Mn., Sarah (John) Gould of Guelph, Ont., Rianna Hampton of Thunder Bay Ont., Ryan Hampton of Fort St. John, B.C., Sheila (Chad) Canfield of Alberton, Ont., Robert Lahti of Alberton Ont., and Amanda Lahti (Ray Luck) of Fort Frances, Ont.; and nine great-grandchildren.
Irene also is survived by her brother, Tadeusz Zemlo, and sister, Agnieszka Kozlinska, both in Poland; niece, Eva Tuersley of Fort Erie, Ont.; and three great-nephews in southern Ontario.
She was predeceased by her husband, Harry, and infant granddaughter, Jessica Lahti, both in January, 1985, and her sister, Halina Gludovics.
Our mom was born Irena Zemlo to Leonard and Lucyna Zemlo on Aug. 21, 1924 in Czestochowa, Poland. She moved to Belgium on her own after the destruction caused during WWII.
In Brussels, she met and married Harry Jacob Vanderplaats.
In October, 1950, Mom and Dad decided it was time to take the family, which included Jake and Irene, for a visit to Canada. So the ship was boarded and they never turned back.
The first night in Fort Frances, Mom and Dad walked arm-in-arm pushing the children’s carriage down main street to take a look around the downtown area during a gentle snowfall. After a couple of blocks, being greeted by a few friendly people, they looked at each other and both said how they felt so comfortable and at home here.
After about one year, another move was made to Emo, Ont. Dad had been working as the bookkeeper for Ace Nuttal of Emo Lumber and there were many times when he just could not hitch a ride there and back. So off we went again.
In Emo, two more children entered the family, Anthony in July, 1952 and Christine in April, 1957. Friends were made and new experiences took place for all. Our parents especially marvelled at how a doctor, a fireman, a logger, a shopkeeper, and an accountant all could play bridge together or socialize together without thinking about class distinctions.
That just wouldn’t have happened back in Europe 65 years ago!
We lived in Emo for six years, into the summer of 1957, before making the move back to Fort Frances as by then, Dad had begun to fulfill his plan of being his own boss by taking on the accounting for several small businesses.
His customer base ended up being located mostly in Fort Frances, so it only made sense to move back there.
After renting a house from Robertson’s Transfer for a few months, that big house on the corner of Victoria and Nelson came on the market. It was going to be tough sledding for a while but our parents decided they could handle the purchase price of $6,000 if they were careful.
They were grateful for a big house as the family grew again with the addition of Lucy, who was born in January, 1959.
Mom loved to make people laugh and every topic reminded her of a joke. We see her love of humour in most of her descendants, although we can get quite carried away with silliness at times.
She was a person with many talents: she was an excellent bridge player as was our Dad, she could speak seven languages, she had a natural talent for drawing almost anything, and enjoyed dancing, especially ballet (having taken lessons in her early 20s).
Her mind never stopped puzzling over something, be it a household predicament, or a religious idea, or metaphysical, or medical, or philosophical, or a baking or cooking concoction! She truly enjoyed the challenge and the victory of arriving at a good answer to share with all of us.
Her outside of the home employment included serving ice cream at the old Dairy Queen by The Point for several summers, owning and operating a local family restaurant where she was the head cook, various duties at the bus depot, and in Safeway’s cake-decorating department for 10 years, after which she retired.
Cremation was arranged by Northridge Funeral Home in Emo, Ont.
According to her wishes, a private family commemoration will be held in early August.
In lieu of flowers, in memoriam donations may be made to a charity of your choice.