Obituary of Siebrand Klaassens
Surrounded by his loving family, Siebrand Klaassens passed away suddenly, but peacefully, on Wednesday, November 5 at the age of 88. We are comforted to know that he was welcomed by his Lord and now is in a far better place, free from health struggles and challenges.
Sieb will be greatly missed by his wife of almost 67 years, Ina, children Nick (Arlene) and Anne (Tom) and grandchildren Daniel (Rebecca), Katie (Wilson), David and Annalies.
Sieb was born in Uithuizermeeden, Groningen, the Netherlands on July 11, 1937. He was a very proud "Grunneger" and loved to find folks to speak Gronings with. In 1957, while in the Dutch army, he met a pretty young lady at church in Den Dolder. Love blossomed, and in 1959 he married Ina Drent and they set off on a new adventure. They immigrated by ship to New Zealand (through the Suez Canal) and established a home there for more than 9 years. As an electrician, he worked in a variety of positions. One of the most interesting was electrical maintenance at remote lighthouses along the rugged coast. 1968 started a new adventure - immigration to Canada. This time they cruised through the Panama Canal, making a full circuit of the world by ship. Settling eventually in Burlington, Sieb continued as an electrician, mostly with Eddy's Electric doing house calls. Upon retirement, Sieb and Ina moved to the Hanover area and later the Owen Sound area to be closer to grandchildren. One more move - in 2019 to Trillium Village in Strathroy - and his moving days were over.
Sieb had many hobbies, but ham radio was one of the most significant. As VE3JUA, he was active in ham radio clubs, field days and hamfests for many years. In later years, he loved working with computers, building components and playing with software. Avid campers, Sieb and Ina loved to travel all over North America with a pop-up tent trailer and later a small camper. Site 346 at McGregor Provincial Park might as well be renamed the Sieb Klaassens site.
Visitation and service will be held on Monday November 10th, 2025 at Denning's of Strathroy.
Visitation from 1:30 to 2:30; funeral service at 2:30, followed by interment at Strathroy Cemetery,
The funeral service will be livestreamed at www.strathroyfuneralhome.com where it will be available to be viewed live, as well as recorded.
