Obituary of Boy Michel Boysen

Boysen, Boy Michel (Mike) – born October 9, 1929 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.  Deceased May 10, 2018, Lindsay.

Mike passed away peacefully.  He was the oldest child of his parents, Boy Boysen, and Hendrika van der Kwast.  He is survived by his brother John, and his sister Gera.  He was predeceased by his wife, Liesbeth, in 2011. They were childhood sweethearts, and would have celebrated 65 years of marriage on May 2nd.  He missed her very much.

He leaves behind many family members who loved him, including his children Michael (Diane) of Lakehurst, Eric (Barb) of Maberly, and Ingrid of Myrtle Beach.  His in-laws WJ and Els Vreeken of Kingston, Jim Leblanc of Cornwall, HJ de Vries of Utrecht, and Verna van den Blink of Bloemfontein.

He will be fondly remembered by his grandchilden – who called him Opa – including Laura, Jonathan, Scott, Kristin, James, Emma, Leanna and Connie, and his great-grandchildren Thea, Henry and William. He was the cherished Oom Boy to Hanneke, Daan, Marie Christine, Erik, Mark, Marina, Marc, Andre, Dana, Paul, Astrid, Michelle, Alexander, Charles and Christopher. 

Born before WW2, he spent his early teenage years under German occupation of his hometown.  He followed his younger brother John to Canada, officially emigrating in 1951.  Mike married his high school sweetheart – Liesbeth – in Toronto, May 2, 1953.  Worked as a technical draftsman for Collins Radio in Toronto, then moved the family to Montreal in 1968 to work for RCA Victor, then Spar Aerospace, then Bombardier (part of the CL 215 project team). 

Mike and Liesbeth retired to Brockville in 1990, then moved to Outlet, Charleston Lake where he built a home on his own, while Mom created beautiful woodland gardens.  They finally moved to the Bobcaygeon area to be closer to children and grandchildren in 2003.  He was a long-time resident at the condos on East St, then the Kawartha Retirement Suites on West St, and finally to Case Manor

Mike was the consummate volunteer.  He spent a lot of time with Scouts Canada organisation, leading both Cub and Scout troops.  He furthered his career through self-learning from the Canadian Institute of Management.  Whenever an organisation needed help – he was there.  He was a volunteer firefighter for the Town of Baie d’Urfe (Montreal); a town councillor for Baie d’Urfe; on the Band Parents committee for the Hudson – Macdonald High School band; acted as the treasurer for his local condo in Brockville, for the Algonquin to Adirondacks initiative, and for the Friends of Charleston Lake Park.  He was always interested in family history and was proud of his Dutch / Danish roots.   He loved to spend time outdoors and travelling.  Early family vacations were spent camping where Bon Echo was his favourite park.  In later years he would spend easter break in Myrtle Beach with Liesbeth and Ingrid.  He went on many cruises with Liesbeth, and made many trips home to visit relatives in The Netherlands.  His last trip with Liesbeth was to South Africa and Kruger National Park, and one final visit to the Netherlands.  While a resident in Bobcaygeon, he could be seen on his scooter with the Dutch flag on the back, and he participated in several memorable Canada Day parades.

He lived a full life, but at the end he was ready to go and reconnect with those who had gone before him.  He leaves a positive legacy in his family, and the many organisations that benefitted from his enthusiasm for volunteering.

There will be no funeral service.  However, friends wishing to remember Mike are encouraged to donate to the Friends of Charleston Lake Provincial Park, to the Bobcaygeon Music Council, or to a charity of their choice.

We are all blessed by having shared quality time with Mike.