BMW o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-12-26 published
Family mourns crash victim
By Joe BELANGER, Free Press Reporter, Mon., December 26, 2005
Willy KLASSEN was the kind of young man who could put a smile
on anyone's face.
Loved by all who knew him, the 20-year-old's passions in life
included snowboarding, soccer, cars, Friends and family -- the
simple pleasures learned growing up in a close-knit, hard-working
family of 10 children.
Those people whose lives Klassen brightened celebrated Christmas
with only his memory.
The East Elgin secondary school graduate was killed instantly
Friday when the car he was in went out of control on Elgin Road
just north of Aylmer and slammed into a tree after sideswiping
another car it was trying to pass.
"You couldn't ask for a better friend," said Reuben
WIEBE, who
suffered a broken thumb and a concussion in the crash, of which
he has no memory.
"He'd give you just about anything you'd ask for."
The▼ driver of the 1997
BMW,
KLASSEN's pal Dan
FRIESEN, 24, suffered
a broken collarbone and leg.
Police say speed was a factor.
The three were on their way to visit
KLASSEN's brother, Henry,
22, a volunteer with the Malahide fire department.
When the alarm sounded, Henry was among the rescue workers who
raced to the scene only to discover the victim was his brother.
"I found out when I got there," said Henry in an interview Christmas
Eve.
As other firefighters worked to free his brother, Henry helped
load WIEBE and
FRIESEN into ambulances.
"You just do what you've gotta do," said Henry. "It doesn't really
hit you until you sit down later and think about it."
Henry said yesterday his family is coping with the tragedy, surrounded
by Friends.
Henry, whose parents, Frank and Susan, have 10 children between
the ages of 13 and 30, lost not only a brother, but a buddy.
"He was a very happy guy and everybody just loved him," Henry
said of his truck-driver brother, who lived in Malahide Township.
The youngest
KLASSEN child, 13-year-old David, mourned the older
brother he adored by writing a poem, Someone Always Has to Fall,
its poignant words showing his struggle to understand the loss:
"It doesn't matter what the size
Whether it be large, small, or none at all
Always someone has to fall
You'll cry and cry but the pain is still there.
You'll have agony that no one can compare.
But yet it's true
That someone always has to fall
No matter who it is at all."
Today, Friends and family are to gather at the H.A. Kebbel Funeral
Home on Talbot Street East in Aylmer for visitation from 2 p.m.
to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The funeral is at 2 p.m. tomorrow at
EMMC
Church in Summers Corners.
Interment is at Aylmer Cemetery.
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BMW o@ca.on.simcoe_county.barrie.the_barrie_examiner 2005-03-28 published
Drive home ends in tragedy
Bradford woman, 22, dies on way to see family for Easter
By Michele
HENRY,
Monday,
March 28, 2005
A Bradford woman who celebrated her 22nd birthday Thursday is
dead after her car veered into a ditch early yesterday morning.
South
Simcoe police say Lisa
KOOY was pronounced dead at the
scene of the single-vehicle crash.
Officers say she was travelling south in a
BMW along the 10th
Sideroad of Innisfil between the 5th and 6th Line around 3: 15
a.m. Her car veered off the road into an east ditch and struck
a tree, police say.
“There's no evidence of alcohol,” said Sgt. John
VAN
DYKE of
the South Simcoe police. “We suspect she fell asleep and drove
off the road, but we can't confirm that at this point.&rdquo
KOOY's family has deep and extensive roots in Bradford. She was
one of 32 grandchildren.
“It's almost unreal,” said Albert
KOOY, one of the woman's uncles.
“It's really a tragedy, and this affects a lot of people in the
Bradford area.&rdquo
Born in Newmarket,
KOOY and her parents moved just north of Bradford
more than 15 years ago.
Devastated, the woman's father didn't want to comment yesterday.
Albert KOOY describes his niece as a “go-getter.&rdquo
“Her character was that she wasn't afraid of anything,” he said,
adding she played women's hockey competitively, travelling to
tournaments in places as far as New Zealand.
KOOY worked with several family members, including her father,
at a lawn equipment business in Toronto.
With a boyfriend in Barrie and a job in Toronto, Albert
KOOY
says his niece was likely on her way home Sunday morning.
“She's been down that road many times,” he said.
The 10th Sideroad of Innisfil was closed for six hours Sunday
morning while reconstructionists pieced the accident together.
A post-mortem is scheduled for today. Police say the investigation
is ongoing.
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BMW o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-03-16 published
DE VOS,
Ernest
Nathan
Suddenly, in an accident in Florida on March 5, 2005. Ernie is
survived by his three children and their partners - Natascha
and Jon, Ted and Diane and Tamara and Chris, his wife - Jane,
his grandchild Keagan and two step-children Emily and Grant.
Ernie lived his 63 years to their fullest. Born in Holland, Ernie
came to Canada when he was nine and grew up in Montreal. In his
early 20's he used to formula junior race cars, which were the
precursors to the formula one of today. He was the Canadian/American
champion three years in a row (1962-1964). With this success
came the nickname "The Flying Dutchman".
Then,▲ it was time to settle down. Motor company
BMW had seen
him race and began sponsoring him, so when Ernie was ready, he
obtained a
BMW dealership in Sherbrooke for one dollar.
In the Sherbrooke area for 15 years, Ernie was extremely busy
being innovative. He owned and operated one of the first hydroponics
greenhouses in Canada - Les Serres de Vos, he imported and sold
furnaces that were environmentally friendly by burning wood pellets,
straw and even telephone books. In 1986 he decided to take the
plunge and move to Ontario - he opened his new garage - Bimmer
Haus, in Bolton which sold and serviced used
BMWs.
His family
followed him a year later.
Bimmer Haus was a huge success and he sold it in February 1997
for a new life - retirement. In need of a new adventure, Ernie
decided to cycle across Canada. He began the summer of 1999.
He drove to Vancouver with his first wife Barbara and daughter
Natascha and from Vancouver, British Columbia, on his recumbent
bicycle, he cycled to Tobermory, Ontario. He averaged 210 kilometers
a day and did the distance in 14 days. He won the senior award
for Athleticism for this feat. The following year, summer 2000,
he cycled from Orangeville, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
He managed this feat of athleticism in ten days.
After his success in Canada, Ernie decided to try Australia.
In December 2001, Ernie cycled across Australia. He was gone
for three weeks. Upon his return, he decided to leave Orangeville,
his home for 14 years and moved to Tillsonburg where he met his
wife Jane.
Ernie and Jane were married on April 27, 2003. During the two
and half years of their life together, they cycled throughout
Europe where Ernie introduced Jane to his Dutch family; they
purchased a condominium in Bradenton, Florida where they spent
six months of each year. They joined a cycling club, made new
Friends, and enjoyed life to its fullest.
Ernie was a man that had strong beliefs, lived life to its fullest
and was extremely passionate about what was important to him.
The lives he touched while he was here are the better for knowing
him. He will be sorely missed.
A memorial service will be held at the Tillsonburg Soccer Club,
290 Quarter Town Line on Saturday March 19, 2005 from 1-4 pm.
His family will be sponsoring the development of kilometers along
the Trans-Canada Trail that will commemorate Ernie's travels
donations can be made through the Royal Bank in Tillsonburg.
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