Welcome to the homepage of
Gerald Kamps!

Our mother, oma, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, tanta, neighbour and friend was a very unique and special lady. She had a way of endearing people to her with her beautiful smile and her genuine interest and caring about them. Adjectives to describe her would be determined, optimist, proud, honest, loving, fiercely independent, faithful, but they would also include stubborn, bossy, demanding, jealous and tough. She had a brutal honesty in expressing her feelings and needs, perhaps that is why we loved her and were drawn to her because there was no guessing as to where you stood. All these qualities served mom well!

July 5, 1910 Feikje Mertens entered the world in the province of Groningen, Holland; the 12th child in a family of 13. She grew up in poverty. Actually she spoke very little of those days but when she did, she would say, "we always had enough food and we were always healthy," even though at age 14 she had rheumatic fever that left her with a heart murmur. With pride she would tell us that she completed public school at an early age and was privileged to attend the "Muelo" for 2 years. It was common for young women after finishing school to get a job working as a domestic for upper class rich families. Mom did and she hated it. Treatment of servants was often degrading and she felt humiliated. Her goal was to escape being a servant and have a home of her own. April 27th, 1936 at the age of 26, she married Lukas Kamps, a smart, strong, tall, good looking man. They were blessed with the birth of 3 children. But life was difficult because their beloved Holland had been occupied but the Nazis. They had lived through the terror of war; the fragment of a bomb set fire to their woodshed. They knew fear. However after the war, they seized the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their children by immigrating to Canada. In late August 1948, our parents then aged 38 with 3 small children under the age of 9, set sail on the Kota Inten. Their few belongings consisted of 3 galvanized washtubs, a table and 5 chairs, a hand-crank sewing machine, a mantel clock, few clothes, wooden shoes, and a family Bible. Immigrants were truly courageous, leaving behind all that was familiar to them and never expecting to see their extended families again. No wonder mom cried when the train stopped in Woodstock that September day. They were waiting in front of city hall to be picked up by the farmer who had sponsored them. Fear and loneliness gripped mom and her kids. She told of a kindly Canadian who felt sorry for them and bought the whole five of them and ice cream cone! Wow, so delicious, such kindness, she never forgot it!

Unable to speak or understand the language, those first days and months were long and very lonely. A handful of those early Woodstock Dutch people soon gathered at each other's homes to hold Sunday church meetings, to support each other and talk in their mother tongue. These meetings were important for their spiritual life but also for their social life. These early immigrants had to remain hopeful and inspired and they shared their successes and dreams. One dream many of them had was to have a Canadian. Our parents were lucky that on the day before mom's 40th birthday, their little Canadian was born.

My parents pinched pennies to be able to buy their own farm and mom wanted the farm as much as dad but those years were probably the hardest for her due to isolation and her dependence on others for transportation to get to town to shop or just to visit. She did have the radio to keep her company and faithfully she listened to Back to the Bible Broadcast which she continued to support all her life. Thankfully 2 of dad's brothers had immigrated too and they and their families frequently visited on Sundays.

A real hardship and shock for mom was the loss of her husband in 1960. But she did not wallow in self-pity or become immobilized by grief for long. The farm was sold and she moved to 247 Light St. which became her home for 37 years. She liked to brag about earning her "cap" while working at the Ontario Hospital. She loved earning her own wage! But she still needed to be chauffeured and depended on others for rides to work and church. It was not until circumstances forced her at age 62 that she got her drivers licence. Her ride to work in Tavistock was retiring and she needed a job so she took lessons. She failed at least once but that didn't stop her, she just took more lessons until she got it right!!! At last freedom, independence, our mom thrived! She traveled to Stratford, Burlington, Hamilton, Tillsonburg, Holbrook, Embro, and later to Owen Sound. It did not matter what the weather, snow, sleet or rain; she was fearless. She drove "old people" to their appointment forgetting that they were much younger than her. She delivered meals on wheels and preferred to be the driver when her legs could no longer carry her. Last year in October, our mom was still driving. As long as she had wheels, she never felt trapped. It meant that she could go to the Woodstock Market every Saturday morning, where she could barter, buy flowers, glads, cyclamens; she could go to church on Sundays and Friendenkring on Wednesdays, she could visit her grandchildren and great-grandchildren for their birthdays. Driving meant so much to her and she loved it.

We are thankful for her wonderful example of determination and toughness, especially this past year. Her losses since her grand-mal seizure in November 1999 were immense. She could no longer drive; her hearing was poor; cataracts clouded her eyes. But she insisted that she could still see perfectly the beauty of the world in which she lived. Vision was her most valued sense and that was why she donated so regularly to the Christian Blind Mission because to her not being able to see would be the worst thing that could happen to a person. Stubborn as she was about never being able to adjust to hearing aids eventually she said, "Put them in, I can hear better with them". Visiting with her was always interesting because she prided herself in keeping abreast in the news by reading the newspaper and opinionated she was!! It was easy for her to delegate jobs when she could no longer do things for herself but it had to be done her way. There was no tolerance for idleness or foolishness. Mom lost the ability to walk in late August and she had to go into a nursing home, now totally dependent on others.

Despite all that happened this year, she still loved life and remained optimistic. Flowers were still planted at her house and they thrived, thanks to some very special people. Her mind was still alert and she loved visits from her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, they were her pride and joy. But if it had not been for the dignity and support mom received for her faithful friends and neighbours, she would not have survived this difficult summer. We, her family, are grateful for the love you showed and returned to her.

Fondly, we think of knitted socks, chocolate letters, raisin bread, almond rings, chunky soup with meatballs, jello and ice cream, birthday cards with important words underlined, tears of empathy, great love and concern. Your battles are now over mom; you fought a good fight and set a good example. You faithfully served and love God all your life. Now we can carry on knowing that you are at last Safe in the Arms of Jesus.