Randy Garfield
I’m the lucky guy married to Ann, Jo and Neil’s first baby and became part of this wonderful large Schoonderwoerd family. Josie and the family already know how sad I am for them and everyone who knew Neil but it was important for me to publicly share my feelings for my father in law, who as we all know, was a very special man. From humble roots, he lived through the horror of WW II in occupied Holland, immigrated to Canada as a 16 year old in 1951, here he learned to speak English and worked hard along with his brothers and sisters to build a better life. He ultimately found the love of his life, Josie and they were married in 1963. Neil raised an incredible family of six children while working very hard to provide for them and adored the grandchildren they gifted him with. I’ve only known Neil since 2000 so I missed a significant part of his life, pieces of which have been filled in for me over the years and during the last few days since his passing. He was a remarkable man and I feel lucky and honored to be part of his family. Words don’t do justice to the love I have for this man and the loss I feel at his passing but I know that Neil left us on his own terms with a smile on is face, just like he lived his life. I’ll miss his wisdom, his financial acumen, his distaste for taxes and big government, and most of all his fatherly love which hopefully will stay with me through his spirit and the incredible memories I have on the time we spent together. My sympathies to Josie, his family and the rest of the people whose lives he touched in so many ways.
Monday January 8, 2018 at 8:04 am
