August 6, 2021
The Danish dynamo, Bent Kristensen, was reunited with his beloved wife Kirsten of 62 years on August 6, 2021 after a brief illness and passed peacefully at Surrey Memorial hospital. He leaves behind children: Jens (Kathy) Kristensen, Karen Kristensen (Vincent), Annette (John) Keserich, Michael (Christina) Kristensen and grandchildren Colin, Emma, Elisa, Cooper, Jacob. He will also be missed by his care-aide and friend Lorraine Drzimotta and a network of cherished relatives in Denmark and Switzerland.
Ingenuity, tenacity, humour and a good sense of adventure served Bent well in life. As a young boy he spent many hours in his parents' greenhouse workshop with his brother Cai using his first investment, a workbench vice. Here he formed his ability to see things from multiple angles. The happy hours of tinkering and filing eventually lead to him earning a medal of distinction presented by Danish Royalty as a precision mechanic.
In his bachelor days in Aalborg, he built and flew glider planes along with a resourceful group of fellows, which gave him a strong sense of achievement as well as lifelong friendships. It was also in Aalborg that Bent first met Kirsten, the love of his life, and they soon hatched plans for what became a life altering adventure in Canada and the USA. They later married and after a short time back in Denmark imported their life, dreams, skills, children, and Danish farm machinery to Canada.
Together, Bent and Kirsten built an interesting and full home life in the green acres of Surrey and the summerhouse on the arbutus clad shores of Orcas Island. Over the years in Surrey, Bent went from juggling three self-owned and run businesses to being a successful entrepreneur, enjoying many ventures and building valued business contacts and friendships along the way. Equally important was the warmth of community at Granly Danish Lutheran Church in Surrey.
Bent was a man of stories, sayings, tradition and specific tastes - especially Danish cheeses. He was by nature a positive man who thought things through in advance. He usually started his day with a happy medley of whistling, a sparkle in his eye and armed with his, always handy, Swiss Army Knife. He diligently started each day with his own special morning fitness routine, but Bent was emphatically not a sportsman, instead offering his sons the advice to pick-up a shovel if they needed exercise! He loved his family, without a doubt. He cuddled and read to his kids and grand kids, he made them laugh, feel safe and lucky to have known him. He was deeply satisfied with the adventures and gifts of his life and could tell you about that for hours never telling the same story in quite the same way.
Skäl (cheers) and tillykke (congratulations) Bent on a great life!
We love you Dad and Grandpa.
To see photos and give online condolences go to: www.victorymemorialpark.com and click on Bent's tribute page. A celebration of life will be announced in September.