WILLEM (Bill) M.G. VAN RAALTEN 1935-2009
On Tuesday, September 16, 2009 our much beloved
husband, father and grandfather passed away after a remarkable three year battle against a series of medical challenges. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Anna (van Ispelen) and their son, Ronald W.G. van Raalten and girlfriend Sandra Unger; daughter Diana M. Monk along with her husband, Alan W.R. Monk and their three children, Paul, Jody and Lisa. He was predeceased by their infant son, Paul D. van Raalten. He is also survived by his brothers and sisters in Europe: Friso van Raalten (Lies) of Cuyk, NL; Rob van Raalten (Annet) of Raalte, NL and Elly Atkinson (Neil) of Wales, UK. He will also be missed by his many nieces and nephews in The Netherlands and U.K.
“Wim” was well known for his volunteer work on the
behalf of animals and making his grandchildren laugh. He was born in Malang, Indonesia. His independence and unique outlook on life were forged by his survival in a Japanese prisoner of war camp as a young boy. After his family's internment in 1946 they returned to The Netherlands where Wim became an officer in the Dutch military. After serving his country, he studied Hotel Management in Maastricht. He married Anna in 1960 and they moved to Edmonton in 1967 with their two children. In Canada he gained his Accounting Diploma and worked several years for Syncrude and subsequently owned his own small business. He returned to The Netherlands in the mid 1980's to look after his ailing mother in Den Haag and to finish the last years of his career. In 1992, he and his wife retired to Kelowna.
The family wishes to offer a very special thanks to all the nurses and doctors at KGH for all that was done for Wim over the past three years.
A private memorial service will be held in Wim's
memory at his daughter's home on Wednesday,
September 23. In lieu of flowers, donations to SPCA will be gratefully received.