Remembering our roots ~ John and Donna Timmermans
By John Godsman Times Contributor
John was born in Oosterhout, North Brabant, The Netherlands in 1934, and lived there until he was 18 years of age, when he moved to Emmeloord, Noord East Polder. He attended Grades 1-7 in Oosterhout, followed by two years in agricultural school, and a further two years at an agricultural college.
In the 1950s, males aged 18 were required to complete two years national service in the Dutch Armed Forces, and John served in the Dutch army from 1954 to 1956. He travelled to Manotik, Ontario in 1957, and worked on a dairy farm for one year, before travelling west to Rockyford in 1958 where he worked on Henke’s grain farm for two years before returning to The Netherlands.
He immigrated to Canada in 1960, and returned to Rosebud to work at the Howard Hymas cattle and grain farm for a year, before moving to Calgary where he spent the next 10 years working at Canada Packers/Shurgain Feed Mills.
He met his spouse-to-be, Donna Mae Heinzlmeir (born at Baintree), at Bert and Marie Gerritsen’s wedding, where John was best man and Donna was the bridesmaid. Donna attended Grades 1-12 in Rockyford. After graduating, she worked the switchboard for a telephone company in Rockyford, then worked for Calgary Power until the children started arriving.
John and Donna were married in Calgary on June 20, 1964 and they had four children – three daughters and a son – and now have nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Once the children were of age, Donna returned to work at Carseland Arena with Yvonne Hellevang, then assisted John at the Indus Estate, and also at Woodwards, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, and the Hoof and Nail.
In 1970, John was hired by Western Irrigation District (WID) to be a ditch rider in the Carseland area. The job required ditch riders to literally ride the ditch banks, ensuring water was delivered to landowners when and where needed. In the early 1970s, WID employees were provided with a three-bedroom house, a barn, vegetable plot and 80 acres of land, on which John and Donna raised milk and grain cows (selling their cream to Foothills Creamery). John commented that when they moved into this house (built in 1907) it had a coal stove for heating and cooking, which was eventually replaced by propane, then natural gas.
In 1980, following John’s retirement from WID, the family moved to Indus, where John managed the Dhe Swanenburgh Estate for the Dooyes Family. After this land was sold to the neighbouring German landowners Pferdmenges Farms, John continued to maintain the estate, as well as working the grain farm, for the new owners.
John and Donna retired at the age of 70 (in 2006) and moved to Chestermere. John recalled that while working for WID in the Chestermere area, he had to remove garbage from cabins located around the lake, which have now been replaced by elaborate lakefront homes.
They were both actively involved in each and every community where they lived, and loved to travel to different places around the world, as well as spending the summer months camping.
Regretfully, Donna passed on Dec. 26, 2017.