Everdina Opitz has embarked on her last adventure, departing from the Burloak Long-Term Care Home on her final journey on March 17 ^th , 2023.  She leaves behind her son Marcus, daughter-in-law Linda and her beloved granddaughters Marina and Teija, all waving goodbye and wishing her a Bon Voyage.  She enjoyed a full century of exploration and experiences, surmounting every challenge that she was ever faced with.

Friends are invited to join in a celebration of her life at Walton United Church in Oakville on Saturday, April 22 ^nd at 11:00 AM.  Per Everdina's request, please wear bright and joyous attire.

Born in Amsterdam in 1922, Everdina grew up in a home filled with art, literature and music.  Initially apprenticed to a violin maker before the war, circumstances required her to become a veteran Resistance fighter at the age of nineteen.  Later, on the battlefields of northern Holland, she found her calling as a nurse, a professional path which she followed for the rest of her life.  After the war she set out to explore the world, travelling first to Indonesia and then going to work as a nurse in England, where a young Scots doctor first introduced her to the joys of sailing.

Seeking further adventures, she emigrated to Canada in 1951, despite warnings from her family that it was a wild and untamed country, full of wild men.  Settling in Toronto, she worked as a nurse until romance beckoned and swept her away to live in a log cabin in the north woods of Ontario, without electricity or plumbing, but with running moose and bears.  While living in this wilderness, she brought forth her only child.

Two years later she was faced with the challenge of living as a single working mother, in an age when that was not common.  Returning to Toronto, her administrative and teaching abilities were soon recognized and she became an instructor in Obstetrical Nursing, at the East General Hospital.  Even decades later her students would remember her because of the love, care and professionalism which she demonstrated.

Seeking to create a more stable home environment, Everdina bought a house in Burlington in 1965, taking a job as Head Nurse of Obstetrics at Joseph Brant Hospital.  There her natural leadership abilities eventually elevated her to the top of the nursing hierarchy, becoming a Patient Care Co-ordinator.  Her circle of friends and experiences continued to grow, including the pursuit of a degree at McMaster University, where she graduated on the Dean's Honour List.  She sang with the Burlington Opera Society, taking part in performances by Opera Hamilton, and also took up scuba diving as a path to more adventures.  As a scuba diver she gathered life-long friends and explored waters from the Great Lakes through the Caribbean islands, even as far away as New Zealand.

In her sixties, Everdina took up competitive swimming in the Masters Program, focusing on more endurance-dependent events.  Over two decades, she set a number of world records and travelled as far as Japan to compete.  In those years, she also took up sailboat racing as a regular crew member on her family's boat, competing into her 85 ^th year.  Not only did she win trophies, she also became a key supporter of Bronte Harbour Yacht Club's Visually Impaired Sailing program, helping people find joy and independence out on the lake.  Eventually settling into maturity, she expressed her artistic nature through watercolour paintings of flowers and northern landscapes, also hand-painting all of her Christmas and greeting cards.  She also found fulfillment in knitting hundreds of pneumonia vests for children in Africa as part of Walton United Church's prayer shawl group, working on producing vests right up until her final days.  As she frequently pointed out, her own mother would never have tolerated just sitting around with idle hands.

Over the years, Everdina made continual contributions to over twenty charities, both local and international.  For her hundredth birthday, she gratefully accepted donations for the CNIB Guide Dogs, in lieu of gifts.  For those wishing to honour her memory, a donation to that charity or another of your choice would be greatly appreciated.

Fiercely independent and resourceful, Everdina lived on her own into her 98 ^th year.  She will be greatly missed by her family, her friends, and the caring staff at Burloak Long-Term Care Home, who embraced her tenacious spirit and provided kind and compassionate care over the past two years.  For this, they have the family's profound thanks.