Christian Henry Brouwer died at his home Feb. 18, 2008, following a lengthy illness. Beloved husband and father, Chris will be sadly missed by wife Barbara, daughter Jennifer and son Jeremy (Kelly), mother Gerdina of Holland, sister Ann Read (John) of England, and brothers Nick (Palmira) Brouwer of Vancouver, Andy (Judy) Brouwer, Jerry (Shelley) Brouwer, Leo (Vikki) Brouwer and Bill (Sharon) Brouwer of Ontario, and several nieces and nephews:
Born in Megen, Holland in 1945, Chris and his family immigrated to Canada in 1954, settling in Port Credit, Ontario. Chris and Barbara met in Belize in 1977, married in 1978 and came to B.C. in 1980. They have been residents of Salmon Arm since 1992.
Chris faced his illness with uncomplaining courage and, to the last day, buoyed everyone around him with his sense of humour. Even when he was in pain, Chris greeted family and friends with warmth and welcome.
The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses of Shuswap Lake General Hospital and the nurses and care aides of Community Care for their exceptionally kind and compassionate care, and the support of family, friends, the Observer family, Shuswap Hospice and niece Janet Hill, who helped make it possible for Chris to die at home.
A memorial service will be held at First United Church on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. with a tea to follow.
In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Shuswap Hospice Society or the Shuswap Lake Hospital Foundation may be made in his memory.
“For that is the real truth,
Man is a soul and has a body
The body is not the man; it is only the clothing of the man.
What you call death is the laying aside
Of a worn-out garment, and it is no more
The end of the man than it is the end of you
When you remove your coat.
Therefore you have not lost your friend;
You have only lost sight of the cloak in which you were accustomed to see him.
The cloak is gone, but the man who wore it is not;
Surely it is the man that you love and not the garment.”
C.W. Leadbeater (excerpt)