Johan Deeg

𝑫𝑬𝑬𝑮, 𝑱𝒐𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔 (𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒔)

The Deeg family announces with great sadness that the rock of our family, Hans Deeg, 98 years young, passed away peacefully on April 1, 2022 at Faith Manor of the Holland Christian Homes in Brampton, Ontario. Hans was pre-deceased by his beloved wife, Elly, on Oct. 13, 2021; by his mother Jacoba in 1946, his father Johann in 1964; and his sister Betty (Cordes) in 2004. Left to mourn his passing are his sons Frank (Kathy) in Ottawa; Bart (Margaret) in Edmonton; his half-sister Dorly (Jan Kardaun) in Rotterdam, Netherlands; his beloved grand-daughter Christina (Lee Dombrosky) and his two great-grand-daughters (Elly and Daisy) in Edmonton; his beloved grandson Philip in Augsburg, Germany, and nieces Bea in Holland and Corine in Australia.

Hans was born on June 24, 1923 in Deventer, Netherlands and proceeded to lead a most eventful life, through the Depression and WWII when he participated in the Dutch underground during the Nazi occupation, then returning to Delft University to resume his engineering education. It was there that he met Elly, and they formed a strong and loving partnership that lasted 73 years till Elly’s death in 2021. Hans and Elly and their two sons emigrated to Canada in 1952, when Hans began his career as a chemical engineer – first with Canadian Oil in Sarnia, then a brief interlude in Los Angeles with Fluor Corp., and back again to Sarnia with Canadian Oil. Following Shell Canada’s acquisition of Canadian Oil in 1963, Hans was transferred to Shell's head office and the family moved to Toronto. Hans retired in 1985 but carried on briefly with a posting in 1988 to China with CESO (Canadian Executive Services Overseas). In retirement, Hans and Elly were avid travellers, taking many marvelous trips abroad often with friends, but were especially devoted to planning and participating in numerous Deeg family reunions, in Canada, in Cuba and on board numerous Holland America cruise ships. In addition to their love of family, Hans and Elly enjoyed cultivating and nurturing throughout their married life scores of enduring and cherished friendships. And we must mention that Hans was a life-long fan of jazz, particularly of Duke Ellington, and was a long-time member of Toronto’s Duke Ellington Society.

We are grateful for the exceptional and compassionate care Dad received from the nursing and PSW staff in Faith Manor. At Hans’ request, there will be a private family memorial. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Holland Christian Homes or a charity of your choice will be much appreciated. Condolences and tributes may be offered at wardfuneralhomes.com.

𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝑫𝒆𝒆𝒈 – 𝑨 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚

Hans was born in 1923 in Deventer, the Netherlands. He had one older sister, Betty, who was born in Deventer 10 years before him. After marrying, Betty and her husband emigrated to Australia in the early 50’s and had 3 daughters, one of whom still lives in Australia, another lives in Holland, and the eldest daughter passed away a few years ago in Australia. Betty also passed away in Deventer where she lived for the last 4 decades of her life, about 10 years ago. Hans did quite well in public and high schools, and already had enrolled as a first-year student in engineering at Delft Technical University when WWII broke out. For the duration of the war, Hans went “underground” and joined the Dutch resistance movement, helping Allied airmen and soldiers who crashed in Holland, and also helping Dutch Jews escape arrest and deportation. In so doing, he was forced to sever all contact with his family so that they would not know where he was or what he was doing should they be interrogated.

Hans returned to his studies in chemical engineering at Delft University in 1946, and once again, did very well. Unfortunately, his mother died in an automobile accident shortly after the war. Hans graduated in 1948 with honours, but then had to try to find a job in a Holland severely damaged by the war. In the meantime, he had met his future wife (Elly Marie van Zonneveld) who herself had survived with her parents 3.5 years in various Japanese prison camps in Indonesia during the war. Elly’s family went “home” to Holland to start over. Her family had lived in Jakarta, which they considered to be “home”. (Having been born in Indonesia, Elly always felt it was truly her home.) Once settled back in Holland, Elly got a job as a librarian at Delft University where she and Hans met. So began a life-long love affair that lasted 73 years, Hans being utterly devoted to ensuring Elly’s happiness.

In the meantime, Hans’ father had re-married and much to their delight he and his wife Hardie Beens had a daughter, Dorly, who thus became Hans’ half-sister, 27 years after he was born! Hans and Elly married in Delft and then Hans accepted a job offer from a Dutch oil company with a refinery in south Sumatra, the largest Indonesian island, and so Hans, Elly and their new-born baby son Frank moved there in late 1948. However, the political situation in Indonesia made life there increasingly complicated and unpleasant for Dutch nationals. So, reluctantly, Hans and Elly decided to leave Indonesia in 1952. In the meantime, a second son Bart was born in 1950 in Sumatra during their 4- year stay there. Returning to Holland, they soon realized that the Dutch economy had still not recovered enough to provide jobs for people like Hans, so he once again searched elsewhere for a suitable chemical engineering job. As luck would have it, he was made an offer by the Canadian Oil Company (White Rose), based in Sarnia, Ontario, the so-called “Chemical Valley of Canada”. Once again, the Deeg family of four emigrated, by ocean liner, from Holland to Sarnia in late 1952.

The Deeg's adjusted quickly to life in Canada, but Elly had some difficulty getting used to Canadian winters. She had begun receiving glowing reports from Dutch friends who had previously emigrated to the US and were living and working in the Los Angeles area. In 1957, the Deeg family emigrated to Los Angeles. However, Hans and Elly decided over time that life in LA was not what they thought it would be, so they emigrated once more, back to Canada, in June 1959, and even back to Sarnia where Hans got his old job with Canadian Oil back. With his admirable positive spirit, Hans had travelled in advance to Sarnia where he bought a house and registered the boys at school, even before he had received the job offer there.

Things changed somewhat a few years later when Shell Canada bought Canadian Oil, and Hans was transferred to Shell Canada’s head office in Toronto. The Deeg family moved in the late summer of 1963 to Islington, where Hans and Elly lived until 2014 in the same house, until they moved to Hope Tower at Holland Christian Homes in October 2014. Both in Sarnia, and then later in Toronto, they always had a rich social life, with a wide circle of Dutch friends, many of whom had also lived in Indonesia, but also with Canadian friends. Hans retired officially in 1985 but worked for several more years for Shell as a consultant and then for CESO (Canadian Executive Service Overseas) on a contract in China. Meanwhile, both sons graduated from university, met and married their wives (Bart and Margaret in 1980, and Frank and Kathy in 1986), and ended up, respectively, in Edmonton and Ottawa. Both Hans and Elly never failed to show how proud they were of their sons’ accomplishments, and how happy they were with their new daughters-in-law! An important factor in Hans and Elly’s life in Toronto, especially as their sons left home and moved across the country, was their desire to keep strong the family ties. For the next 30 years, frequent family reunions with the eager participation of all were arranged by Hans and Elly, sometimes in grand resorts in Canada, and in Cuba, and more often on board a succession of Holland America cruise ships. Bart and Margaret have an older daughter in Edmonton, Christina and her husband Lee who have two children Elly and Daisy; and they have a younger son, Philip, who lives and works near Munich, Germany. Both senior Deegs doted, not only on their two grandchildren, but also on their two great granddaughters.

Some observations about Hans: he was quite an intellectual person, quietly observing the world around him, and drawing conclusions about people, life and the society around him. He was disciplined in maintaining a healthy lifestyle including daily exercise, and always enjoyed cooking – especially traditional Dutch and Indonesian dishes. He was a voracious reader, particularly of philosophical books and other non-fiction. Hans was a lifelong admirer and fan of classical mid-20th century jazz, and his all-time favourite musician was Duke Ellington. For a time in Islington, he was an enthusiastic member of a local Duke Ellington “club” that met regularly to listen to, and discuss, Ellington’s music. In his later retirement years, Hans kept his mind exercised by daily crossword puzzles, Sudoku puzzles, and reading avidly the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star.

Hans will always be remembered as a devoted and loving husband to Elly, a proud and supportive father and grandfather, and as a kind, gentle, intelligent and generous man, with a positive and independent spirit.