Jelte Klaas Groen

Jelte was a man with many lives. Born in Holland as the eldest of seven kids, he was swept overboard from an aircraft carrier, disarmed a distraught person wielding a machete using only his words as a Rijkspolitie officer, started his own business and then moved to Canada to be, as his neighbours dubbed him, “yn wylde man”—a wild man—in the Canadian wilderness. Alongside Hinke, his wife of 43 years, he farmed (first cows, then goats), fostered children, and drove a schoolbus for fun. In the last 14 years of his life, after a bus accident with a thoughtless driver, he struggled with physical impairment and eventually dementia. He lived out his final years in Sutherland, regularly serenading and giving the nurses advice on how to run things, and passed away on July 7, 2022, almost exactly 27 years after he arrived in Canada. Jelte loved 70s folk music and coffee with way too much sugar. He was quick to laugh at a joke, eager to chat, and always ready to fight for the underdog. He was, at his core, a noble man. Jelte was very loved and will be missed by his wife Hinke and his children: Eric (Wilma; Jellis, Brent, Fennick, Jisse, Odin, Marin), Peter (Ann; Marley) and Femke (Yuri; Ayla, Rami). He is probably sharing a beer with his two sons, Klaas Renee and Maurits, up in the clouds. We’ll be celebrating his life at the North Country Fair next summer. 

Care entrusted to Peace Valley Funeral Home Peace River

780-624-1010

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