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Vlot, Gerrit

Gerrit Vlot, aged 80, of White Rock, B.C. passed away suddenly on December 14th, 2009 at Odyssey Hospice in Mesa, Arizona due to cancer. Gerrit was born on November 11th, 1929 in Eethen, Holland and was the third of eight children, seven boys and one girl, born to Dirk Vlot and Geertruida de Baat. Gerrit was predeceased by his parents and brothers Huibert and Alinus. Upon completion of trade school in 1947, Gerrit joined the Merchant Marines as a ship’s carpenter. His travels took him to Scandinavia, Australia, the Persian Gulf, North Africa, Indonesia, Japan and the United States. In 1952 he joined two of his brothers (Adriaan and Dirk Jan) in Sudbury, Ontario to work in a nickel mine. In 1955 they all relocated to southern Ontario. Returning from a visit to Holland, Gerrit met the love of his life Geertruida van de Weerdt (Gerda) on board the ship ‘Zuiderkruis’. It was love at first sight and they were married on June 2nd, 1956 in St. Catharines, Ontario. Shortly thereafter they joined Gerrit’s brothers who were working in the dairy business in California. Daughter Anita was born in 1957, followed by their second daughter Diana in 1961. In 1965 they purchased the Caravan Motel in Monterey, California. In 1969 they decided to sell the business and immigrate to Canada. Gerrit worked in real estate before starting his residential construction company “Oak Tree Construction”, building homes in White Rock and South Surrey, and retired in 1998. Gerrit was an active member of the White Rock Baptist Church and was in the senior choir, served as a deacon and was on the building committee. Gerrit enjoyed lawn bowling, cycling, gardening, swimming, hiking and reading. Since 1992, Gerrit and Gerda enjoyed their winters at Venture Out in sunny Mesa, Arizona where they could continue all their outdoor activities. He will be dearly missed by his loving wife Gerda of 53 years, daughters Anita and Diana, granddaughter Mieranda, brothers Cornelius and Marius and sister Adrie (Holland), brother Dirk Jan (California) and brother Adriaan (Texas), as well as many dear friends and family in Holland, Canada and the United States. Gerrit’s years spent in White Rock were the best and most enjoyable years of his life. Please join us for a memorial service on Saturday, January 9th at 2:00 p.m. at Valley View Memorial Gardens, 14660- 72nd Ave. Surrey B.C. (604-596-8866) with a reception to follow.