A week or two ago an article was run in the paper celebrating Donna and John Timmerman’s 50th Anniversary. Well, Saturday past was an actual celebratory party held for this happy couple in the Chestermere Recreational Centre. Wedding clothes similar to what they wore on the day were on display along with albums that noted their past and present.
The last article about the Timmerman’s was what they had done for our community, but this article goes a little more in-depth about how they met.
John was foreign – an immigrant from Holland. In 1961 he came to Canada by ship, landing at Pier 21 in Nova Scotia. ‘Located in Halifax’s South End in the Halifax Ocean Terminals, Pier 21 was used as a passenger terminal for trans-Atlantic ocean liners from 1928 until 1971. The Pier was the primary point of entry for over one million immigrants and refugees from Europe and elsewhere, as well as the departure point for 496,000 military personal Canadian troops during World War Two. The facility became known informally as the ‘Gateway to Canada.’ At the time that John Timmerman’s immigrated to Canada the way he paid for passage was by working on a Canadian farm for a certain number of years. In this vain he worked in Ontario for a little bit but decided he didn’t like it which led to him climbing aboard a train, leaving him in Rosebud where he worked for a farmer. After this he wound up working for a farmer in Rocky Ford, and that farmer was a cousin of Donnas.
John and Donna met at a mutual friends wedding, attended the same church and social functions. Donna thought that John was so handsome, and that handsomeness was heightened because he was a foreigner. Unfortunately Donna’s parents weren’t too happy that this young man that their daughter had been smitten by was indeed a foreigner.
There was a 7 year age difference between them and Donna only found out when they were getting their marriage license. Lucky for John that Donna was in love with him and that age didn’t matter.
Congratulations Donna and John Timmerman’s on 50 wonderful years together. We all hope there will be more to celebrate in the years to come.
