With much love and sadness, we share the passing of our Mom and Oma, Piep Campbell. She died on November 23, 2020 at age of 97.
Her life spanned many of the events of the 20th century. She was born in The Hague, The Netherlands to a loving family of 9 siblings. Our 2nd and 3rd generation families in Canada still share with our cousins and second cousins and their families in Holland and we visit back and forth.
Piep was 16 years old when WW2 broke out. She lived in Occupied Holland until their country was liberated by Canadians in 1944 and 1945. She met and married, a Canadian soldier, and moved to the Peace River country, where they homesteaded until they moved to Spirit River and later Grande Prairie.
Piep was a homemaker and mother. She was a switchboard operator, a clerk and a popcorn girl. Her lifetime passion was teaching, and teaching Sunday School fulfilled that dream. She wrote a Vacation Bible School Curriculum. She acted and volunteered in live stage productions in “Little Theatre” in Grande Prairie and “Glee Club” in Spirit River. She loved music, taught piano, and sang in church and community choirs and in the car. She was very proud of singing in a production of Handel’s Messiah. She had a strong alto voice and robustly shared it with delight. She was an artist. She did beautiful handicrafts. She was proud of being Dutch, being Canadian and learning about and sharing our Dad’s Scottish heritage. She was a lifetime member of the Royal Canadian Legion Ladies Auxiliary and served as President for Branch #54. She wrote a musical and staged it for a Legion Provincial convention. She was a sports fan and loved to watch and cheer for her Green Bay Packers.
She taught us to appreciate nature and the world around us. She stayed informed and valued education.
I cannot name all the people she touched in her life, but our family will remember her. She is survived by her two living children, Dwight and Lark; her 6 grandchildren, Dawn, Lara, Michelle, Patrick, Surya (Andrea) and Tara; and her 8 great grandchildren, Emma, Meghan, Zachary S., Riley, Kaden, Zachary M., Payton and Maren, and their loving spouses. And she is survived by nieces and nephews scattered around the world. She is at rest with those who predeceased her, her husband Colin Campbell, her eldest son, Kenneth Campbell, and her siblings and parents.
Please do not send flowers. If you wish to honour her, these were her favourite charities: The War Amps of Canada, The Salvation Army, Forbes Presbyterian Church in Grande Prairie, and the Royal Canadian Legion.