Wednesday, January 3, 2024
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Pieter Vanderwerf
“The measure of a man is that which determines or demonstrates the worth of a person.”
It is believed that men are programmed from a young age to associate success with wealth, but the measure of a man is not the size of his bank account; rather it is the respect and goodwill he engenders in others. With this standard in mind, Pieter was a giant among his brethren.
While I knew Pieter as an opponent at the bridge table, it was in 2019 when we became partners shortly after his loving wife, Helena passed away, that I came to know this noble, loving, benevolent, and wise man. Our first game together resulted in a 68% score, but it was the way our communication in bidding and defence intertwined that was so promising. While we won the Senior’s games in Duplicate Bridge that year in our district and again this year, it was the gold medal at the Provincial games this past summer that Pieter was so proud of. We also qualified to play in the February Duplicate Winter Games in Orillia (2024) and the Canada Contract Games in August (2024) in Quebec. Although Pieter had played for decades, he was open to suggestions and new conventions as we worked to improve our game. He proved that it is not impossible to teach an old dog new tricks.
During COVID, Pieter and I played online every day against people we knew and players from around the world. It was during the phone calls afterwards when we talked about life, the garden, family, cooking tips, etc., that I came to appreciate this lovely man. He was a generous ‘gentleman’ who brought bounty from his garden to share with everyone.
Likely the patriarch of his clan, Pieter was enormously proud of each of his children, their spouses, all his grandchildren and those who wanted to join the clan. I had a most helpful conversation about Mazdas in 2020 with a knowledgeable young mechanic, facilitated by Pieter. Pieter placed the greatest value on his family and his relationship with those in his family. One might say that family was everything to Pieter.
I greatly appreciated his sharp wit, his cleverness of speech and the depth of his knowledge in so many areas. I consider myself enormously fortunate to have know Pieter and to call him ‘my friend’; through quality conversation and the sharing of ideas I could see that Pieter had developed a beautiful soul.
Tschues, Gudrun
