Obituary of Jurjen Wijngaard

Please take a moment to send a condolence to the family or share a memory of Jerry.WIJNGAARD, Jurjen (Jerry), P Eng, M. Sc. Eng, PDG passed peacefully at his home at the age of 91 called by his Lord and Saviour on Feb 28th, 2020. He will be sadly missed by his wife, Geertruda (Trudy), children: Saskia (Henry Ginsberg) and Rudy (Lynette Murphy), his 4 grandchildren: Matthew Ciniello (Sophia); Samantha Child-Adams (Jonathan); Jennifer Wijngaard; Christopher Wijngaard, and 2 Great Grandchildren: Rocco Ciniello and Ada Adams. Jerry was born and raised in Groningen, The Netherlands. He married the love of his life Trudy in 1955. They moved to Canada with their twins in 1962. For almost 65 years they laughed, cried, prayed and danced. Jerry had a full and rich life loved by many for who he was and respected for the work that he accomplished. He completed his MS in Engineering in Night School while working as an Engineer writing his first thesis in 1968; “Rotating Pendulum Vibration Absorbers” and his second thesis in 1978; “Industrial Preventive Maintenance Techniques.” He became a Rotarian in 1983, the president of his club in 1993 and a district Governor in 1999-2000. He enjoyed his time with Rotary because of the fellowship, mentoring and problem solving opportunities that allowed him to take action with other Rotarians and create lasting change. He also delighted in driving individuals to their cancer treatments across the GTA and beyond. He became a Christian 1968. As a man of faith, he would read the bible at family dinners, pray and rely on the Lord’s guidance in all manners. Right until his final days, he enjoyed listening to the word and rejoiced in God’s many blessings. As part owner of Pioneer Steel, a Prefabricated Steel Building Manufacturer, Jerry retired at 71 when he became District Governor. However, his innate curiosity lent itself to becoming an avid photographer, which led to the construction of many darkrooms, and a studio where he delighted in capturing that perfect shot. The Family would like to thank Dr. Chandrakumar, The LHIN, and all the generous hands who helped Jerry peacefully live out his days at home, with his wife at his side. In keeping with Jerry's spirit of generosity, in lieu of flowers, donations to The Rotary Club of Mississauga Foundation will be used to support community projects in Mississauga.