After a short illness, Henk Bennink passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 27, 2011 at the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. Beloved and devoted husband of Johanna (Veerbeek) for 59 years. Dear father of four sons, Ben (Marita), Erik (Janice), Henry (Jen) and Gerald (Lori). Loving Opa of Jennifer (Pat), Sandy, Luke (Jen), Cody, Katie, Mitchell, Leah, Jackson, Cooper, Alex, Tess and Emma-Grace. Loving Great-grandfather of Michael.
Henk was a passionate and caring husband and father and valued most his time spent with family and friends. In 1942, Henk joined a club in Holland and trained police dogs with his Bouvier/Belgian Sheep Dog, named Lukey. After WWII, Henk joined the Marine Corps and was heading overseas to the Dutch East Indies. Upon his return, to Holland, Henk married Johanna and immigrated to Canada.
Here, Henk owned and operated a housing contracting company, building many homes in the Oakville area, later working at Ford Motor Company. Henk developed a passion for Airedale Terriers, and for many years he bred and showed Airedales across Canada and the U.S. Later, he became a dog show judge. His passion for animals extended to horses, canaries, and racing pigeons. We will miss Henk's story-telling, his sense of humour and that wonderful sparkle in his eye. Henk's intelligence and his boundless charm always lit up the room, and brightened our lives. We will love him always.
A funeral service will be held at the Kopriva Taylor Community Funeral Home, 64 Lakeshore Road West (one block east of Kerr, 905-844-2600), Oakville at 11:00 am on Monday January 31, 2011 with visitation one hour prior to service and reception to follow