Petronella Deheer (Née Jansen) Obituary
It is with profound sadness we announce that in her 89th year, our much loved mother, Oma, great-grandmother and friend, Petronella Deheer-Jansen, slipped away peacefully, surrounded by family on Saturday, March 4th.
Nelly was predeceased by husband Harry (1992), her partner Joop (John) Houtman (2019), and her four siblings, and will be lovingly remembered by her children Johanna (Alain), Annette (Walter), Jennifer, Ron (Cindy) and Katherine (Luigi), her 7 grandchildren: Stephanie, Melissa, Jacintha, Sebastien, Andrea, Karina and Lucas, 3 great-grandchildren (Ellie, Bennie and Skylar) and several Dutch nephews and nieces. She will also be dearly missed by her numerous friends at Residence Mary-Elizabeth Noonan and the 55+ Centre in Chateauguay.
Born in Alkmaar, Holland, Nelly exuded a characteristic no-nonsense, outspoken attitude all her life. At 40, she pursued a high school certificate so she could get her RN equivalency in Quebec. She sat for the French exam six times before she finally passed it; talk about persistence! As a nurse for over 50 years, a job she loved, she devoted herself unabashedly to her patients.
Nelly adored travel, music, reading, ballroom dancing, walking, and playing Scrabble and cribbage, until macular degeneration began to slow her down – but, above all, Nelly loved people, and there were few who didn’t know her for her outgoingness.
Our mom and Oma was a quirky individual, who never ceased to startle and amuse with her observations of people and life in general. She loved to remind us, when one of us was experiencing a rough patch: “Don’t vurry – everythink iss ‘temporarily’!” She was a role model whom we could always count on.
A memorial gathering will be held between 3:00 and 6:00 pm, on Saturday, March 11th at the Yves Légaré Complex in Chateauguay, 123 Maple street.