As the days go by and I continue to hear the outpouring of condolences from people who knew my grandfather, I am amazed at just how many lives he touched. Grampa certainly lived life to the fullest, taking advantage of his many years and passing on his passions to those he touched and who sought to reach out to him. I am filled with many fond memories; fishing, hunting and enjoying the great outdoors that he loved so much. A love he passed on to me and which I cherish every day. Since his passing, I have had the opportunity to spend some time in his wilderness and when I listen carefully, I can still hear his voice as he chuckles at one of my careless remarks. Grampa was a man of so many talents and | fear with his passing, so too, does a way of life and the expertise of so many lost arts. We always take the living for granted and it is not until it is too late that we think how perhaps we should have paid closer attention how to string a set of snow shoes or to flawlessly skin a rabbit. As Winter turns to Spring, new life takes its first breath in the great outdoors. I like to think that a part of Grampa is breathing that new life into Spring so we can all enjoy her splendours.
WILBERT NEIL VAN CLIEAF,
July 9, 1923 to March 6, 2016Surrounded by the love of his family, Wilbert passed away peacefully on Sunday March 6, 2016. He was predeceased by his wife Lois, his siblings Nora (Joe Burdick), Grace (Fred Farstad), Luella (Alex Belonoha), Vera (Hjalmer Farstad), Gwenna (Leslie Van Dusen), and Willard (Florence) as well as his parents John and Ella as well as one great grandson. Wilbert leaves to mourn his children Beverly, Karon (Dan Menard) and Roy (Heather). He also leaves six grandchildren, Michel, Joanne, Kellie, Tessa, Regan and Travis; nine great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. He will be remembered by numerous nieces and nephews. He also leaves to mourn his companion Barbara Brillinger. Dad dearly loved the wilderness; trapping, hunting and fishing. He loved music and entertaining. He enjoyed wood working and the old trades of snowshoe making and lacing and canoe building and repair. After a long and fulfilled life, Wilbert will be sorely missed by a large host of family and friends. Wilbert’s Family would like to extend a warm welcome for a night of remembrance and fellowship at the FRENCH FAMILY FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORIUM (111 Burnside Dr. Kirkland Lake, ON.) on Thursday, March 10th, 2016 from 7:00 until 9:00 p.m. and again on Friday, March 11, 2016 from 10:00 – 10:45 a.m. followed by the funeral service in the chapel of the Funeral Home at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Norma Teigan officiating. Donations in Wilbert’s memory may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation (2300 Yonge Street, Suite 1300, Toronto, ON., M4P 1E4) or to the Canadian Cancer Society (273 Third Avenue, Suite 101, Timmins, ON., P4N 1E2).Dad, Web, Wilbert, Mr. Van Clieaf, Trapper Van; I knew him simply as Grampa. I would like to thank-you all for coming out today to celebrate the life of Wilbert Van Clieaf.Grampa has touched more lives than I could ever imagine in so many facets of life.Grampa had three great loves in his life.The first was the wilderness. He was raised on a farm in Northern Ontario that was cut from the wilderness in the early 1900’s in Wavell, Ontario. He trapped, hunted and fished. He was much more successful hunting and trapping than he was fishing, which my grandmother could have attested to! He worked the land, and harvested forest and fur products from the same land. His life was sustained either directly or indirectly, in some fashion, from the wilderness.The second was his love for music, which began early in life. He could play almost any string instrument. He entertained at house parties, Christmas celebrations, community dances and a variety of festivities in the early days. He later played with the Matheson Toe Tappers who performed at fall fairs and many other celebrations from Kirkland Lake to Iroquois Falls. He played with “Just Us” here in Kirkland Lake and even participated with the two groups to cut a few CD’s. In his own rite, he became our own down home celebrity. Grampa was featured on YouTube playing with Box Car Junction in Sault St. Marie. You can google it… Van Trap & Box Car Junction. At around the age of 85, my Dad recalls Grampa telling him that he really enjoyed playing for “the seniors” at Tech Pioneer Residence. We all know they enjoyed his performances.His third love was Lois Stickle, who came into his life in the early 1950’s. I say third love, because the wilderness and music were present in his life prior to Grandma stepping off that train at Wavell on that fate filled day. Grampa loved and worshipped Grandma for all the time they had together and after!Now, Grampa had many more loves; his children, grandchildren and great grand children, cards, crokinole, woodworking, canoe building and repair, snowshoe making and lacing, and most lately his newest companion Barb Brillinger. Barb was a great comfort and help to Grampa and we all appreciate that very much.Grampa enjoyed having discussions about many topics, which I’ll sum up as “The Establishment.” My Dad has emphatically noted that it usually had something to do with the MNR. Dad often thought that Grampa had wasted his talents and perhaps should have studied “The Legal Aspects of Law Creation” for most all topics or situations. After many heated conversations and debates, his typical closing statement was usually, “There ought to be a law agin it!” Well, it’s hard to dispute that kind of logic! So if the study of law wasn’t an option, I think he could at the least have been a consultant…he always seemed to have the answers and solutions to all the world’s problems but especially those created by the Ministry of Natural Resources.Dad told me that Grampa always said his Dad, our Great Grampa, was the best when it came to the game of crokinole. Grampa Jack would practice for hours, putting play pieces around the pegs and practice getting those hard shots…Grampa wasn’t too shabby himself. Dad remembers many evenings after a day of snowmobiling when he, Erin Daley, Sam Saley would play into the night. My Dad and Sam always tried to pair Erin with Grampa (Erin wasn’t that good) to give them a fighting chance. They were unsuccessful more than not!Earlier on I mentioned that Grampa harvested forest and fur products. If you have had the opportunity to look at some of the pictures on display, you can easily envision how labour intensive this kind of life was. The farm animals had to be especially cared for because not only was some of it to become food stores, others, like the horses, were the tools and equipment they needed to work such a laborious life. It’s no wonder he had such big “pipes” and liked to display them by wearing his white “muscle shirts”!He was an accomplished story teller too, so much so that he published a book “A Love Affair with the Wild”. He was working on his second book of memoires up to just a few months ago. I could continue to tell stories but there’s only so much time at the podium. So I’m not sure how many of his first books are left, but if you like, I invite you to take a copy home with you if you haven’t already got one. As our Uncle Aleck told my Dad, just this week, Grampa was “a true pioneer and woodsman. People now would have difficulty understanding how to do the things they did back then.”On closing, it is very apparent how much he was loved by the condolences already received and the number of friends that have come out to see him off. His stories, his creations, his wonderful sense of humour and his presence will be missed; however, he has gone to a better place to reunite with Grandma, his siblings and his Mom and Dad who went before him.Thank-you,The Van Clieaf Family.Presented by Regan Van ClieafPrintOffer Condolence for the family of Wilbert Neil Van Clieaf