Obituary of Allan Wiersma

ALLAN WIERSMA

March 11, 1945 – April 11, 2019

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Allan at the age of 74 after a long and courageous battle with Parkinsons. He passed peacefully at home with family members at his side.Allan is survived by his wife of 22 years Diane, daughter Kaely from Edmonton, son Kody from Cold Lake, brother Bill from Lethbridge, and sister-in-law Donna from Golden, BC. He is also survived by his brother Tete and wife Jenny, sister Tiny and husband Bauka Buwalda and sister Folkje all from Holland; sisters and brothers-in-law Lucy and Julian Strzepek and Denis and Betty Dery from Bonnyville; and numerous nieces and nephews both in Canada and Holland. He was predeceased by his parents, brother Theo and step-son Josh Teppan.

Allan moved to Canada from Holland at the age of 19. He learned English working at his first jobs in camps where the men taught him a lot of cuss words. He used them frequently before he knew what they really meant or that they were not really appropriate in everyday conversation. Allan had a zest for life and was fun loving and hard working. He especially loved golf and he and Diane spent their summers in Bonnyville and their winters in Arizona golfing several times a week. He was a do-it-yourself kind of guy and tackled any job that came up, sometimes even when he really didn’t know what he was doing, but he was persistent and always got it done.

He learned the trade of pipefitter welder and later became a quality control manager at several huge construction projects throughout western Canada, a position he held for over 25 years. He also tested new welders and travelled across Canada and the US doing this work. He retired a couple of times but was always lured back to work for only 1 or 2 months, which usually turned into 1 or 2 years.

At his request there will be no service. In Memorial tributes in memory of Allan  can be made  to the Parkinsons Association or the Long Term Care Unit at the Bonnyville Health Center.