12 December 1929 – 23 April 2025
On Wednesday, April 23, our Dad, our Opa, boarded the final 8:05am train from the Salmon Arm station to reunite with his beloved Liesbeth, who left us 7 years ago. At the platform, wishing him well on his final journey, were his five children; Jenny Macdougall, Ian (Kathy), Jack, Brian, and Ken (Patricia), as well as his 14 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.
His passion for trains, LRT’s and buses, was only exceeded by his love for his immediate family and his extended family in the Netherlands. He travelled extensively, both with family and with his wife, Liesbeth, throughout Canada, the U.S, and Europe and of course, if there was a train available, that was the travel mode of choice. When family photos were taken on these trips, we were never certain if the picture would be of the family, or of the train station we happened to be in. Fortunately, the family photo did make it into the photo album most often.
Jaap Jelle, or John as he was known in Canada, was born on December 12, 1929, in Kerkrade, Netherlands where he lived with his parents, two brothers (Klaas and Guuk), and his sister Geertje, until the end of World War II. He moved to England after the war to complete high school and obtain his undergraduate degree from the University of Glasgow after which he moved to North America in 1955 to take his Masters Degree at the University of Purdue. In 1957 he took a job as the City Engineer for Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and then in 1960, moved to St. Albert with his loving wife Liesbeth to take on a position as a Professor at the University of Alberta.
He was a very active resident in St. Albert during the 35 years he lived there. John served on St. Albert’s Town Council, was instrumental in having Grosvenor Park Pool built in 1967, was active in local politics, and established the first public transit system in St. Albert in 1974. As a Professor of Civil Engineering from 1960 to 1991 he specialized in City Planning, Transportation and Graphics at the University of Alberta. He was instrumental in bringing Light Rail Transit (LRT) to the City of Edmonton in time for the 1978 Commonwealth games. He also spent time living and teaching in South Africa, Israel and Delft.
In 1991, John and Liesbeth purchased a lake front property in Eagle Bay, BC, where they moved upon his retirement in 1995. Their new home became a focal point for family vacations and visits from the extended family from Holland. For a few years they also lived in Surrey, BC in the winter months to be able to enjoy theatre and arts performances in Vancouver. They both continued to travel extensively. In Canada and the U.S., they travelled by motor home on trips that were carefully planned, sometimes to the hour, by Liesbeth. In Europe of course, they travelled by train, often without a train schedule as John seemed to know all the routes and trains by heart. When accompanied on his trips by his children in his later years, they marvelled at his ability to navigate anywhere without a map, GPS or train schedule. We are sure that on his final journey, he had no trouble making the right connections along the way, to reunite with Liesbeth at his final stop.
Cremation took place at Bowers Funeral Services.
Online condolences may be sent to Japp Jelle (John) Bakker’s family through his obituary at www.bowersfuneralservice.com
