Rienk Rienks died in a tragic hiking accident in San Carlos, Mexico on January 16 th , 2019. There will be a Celebration of Life on July 13, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. at Martha Creek Provincial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Revelstoke Community Foundation, P.O. Box 2398, Revelstoke, B.C. V0E 2S0, in memory of Rienk.
Rienk was born on February 18, 1943 in Firdgum, Netherlands. He worked at various jobs in and around southern Saskatchewan, including truck driving, farming, mining andthe oil patch before moving to Revelstoke in 1975. He worked for Jake & Jay Holdings and Parks Canada before being hired with the City of Revelstoke public works, where he worked as an equipment operator until retirement in 2005.
After retirement, Rienk worked part time doing campground maintenance and hosting at Martha Creek and bus driving for the Revelstoke Grizzlies and Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Rienk was generous with his spare time and spent lots of time volunteering. He was part of many organizations such as the Lions Club, Knights of Pythias, D.O.K.K., Rocky Mountain Rangers Cadets, and Search and Rescue, both in Saskatchewan and B.C. He was most proud of his time spent driving the local hockey team to their games. He spent many winters driving the team through some awful winter road conditions and always got the boys home safe and sound.
Rienk loved living the full-time RV lifestyle for the last 12 years and felt he was truly living his dream with the love of his life by his side. It was the highlight of his retirement. He loved Karaoke and spent many enjoyable hours singing with his friends everywhere he went, having his own elaborate machine and plenty of songs. Rienk didn’t
understand the definition of a stranger as they were just a friend he hadn’t met yet. He was always quick to introduce himself and made friends easily.
Rienk’s true passion in life was always the love of his family. He was a wonderful husband, father and devoted and proud grandfather.
Rienk was predeceased by his parents, Gordon and Houkje (Hellenga) Rienks, stepmother Anna Rienks, sister Isabelle Oxtoby and her husband John Oxtoby, brothers Kory Rienks and Sietse Rienks; father-in-law Walter Makela and mother-in-law Edla Makela. He is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years, Lona; daughter Tammy (Parry) Kidd, son Kelly (Miken) Rienks, granddaughters Jennifer (Ron) Severson and Rachel (Ryan) Rienks; step grandson Adam (Cassandra) Kidd, step granddaughter Melissa (Chris) Szabunia; step great grandchildren: Olive, Arthur and Ellie Rose; brother Klaas (Maxine) Rienks; sisters: Gertie Russell and Houkje Wendt; sisters-in-law: Fay Rienks, Dorothy Rienks, Myrina (Marc) Poncelet, Irene (Laurie) Delaforest, Carol (Leonard) Francis and Sheila (Tom) Halmai; numerous nieces and nephews as well as countless friends.
Messages of sympathy may be sent to Rienk’s family by viewing his obituary at:
www.brandonbowersfuneralhome.com.
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