Joseph Bernard Klunder

It is with the greatest reverence that we announce the passing of our deeply loved husband, father, brother, uncle, and Opa in the loving care of the Palliative unit at Brantford General Hospital surrounded by family.
Always by the side of Jane, Joe courageously lived his last years and days with failing health, but always with optimism and joy of life. He enjoyed spending the summer at the camper visiting friends and family and always welcoming guests with never ending cups of coffee. Joe took great pleasures in drives through farmland – often telling stories of past events or people he knew from those places. He took great care and joy from some doves he kept and was fond of showing them off to others.
Loving husband of Jane (Vandenberk) for 53 years, and beloved father to Mark and Mandy (Batte), James and Alisha (Hill), Robert, Chris and Dianna (Clarke), and Emily and Tom Blake. Opa cherished and cheered on his loving grandchildren, Charlie, Joey, Johnny, Maggie, MJ, Molly, Sophia, Joseph, Vander, Lita and Felix.
Joe was the eighth child of Willem and Bernadina, and was a loved brother to Riki (deceased), Ben, Bill, John (deceased), Annie, Gerry, Diny, Harold and Theo. Joe was born in Twello, the Netherlands and immigrated to Canada with the family, settling in Binbrook, Ontario. Joe was a great lover of sport and loved farming. As a boy he was ferocious with the soccer ball and was very proud of his time playing with Burlington United and his friends as a young man. Joe worked in the Hamilton area until he could afford to buy a farm. Shortly after marrying Jane in 1971, they bought a farm in Bruce County outside Kincardine, and worked hard on turning the land and buildings into a family farm for them to raise their children. Joe was friend to all he met and loved to cheer on his children and grand children in their sports. He was a dedicated Leafs fan (sorry), and Hockey Night in Canada was a staple in the house. In later years, Dad never missed a Manchester United game on TV and was Emily’s team’s greatest fan. Joe sold Pickseed seeds and grain in the last years of farming and thoroughly enjoyed travelling farmlands and having a coffee visiting farmers, always caring and interested in their families. Joe was also a fixture at the coffeeshop in Kincardine that Jane and Joe established for a few years after leaving the farm. This was a place of welcome and warmth with the touch of family, honesty, hard-work and sincerity that Joe carried with him every day.
We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to the wonderful staff at Hamilton General Hospital critical care unit and the Palliative Unit at Brantford Hospital for their kind care of Joe.
The Celebration of Life will take place at the Hellenic Community Center in Brantford on Sunday, September 29th from 2:30 to 6:30. The address is 475 Park Rd N, Brantford, ON N3R 7K8
Any donations in memory of Joe can be directed to “ARTC”, the Adult Recreation Therapy Centre in Brantford, who gave joy and care to Joe as well. The website address is https://artc.ca/contact
 
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