Alice (Aaltje) (de Vos) Van Veldhuizen

Alice (Aaltje) Van Veldhuizen (nee de Vos) passed away peacefully into glory with her family by her side, in the evening of Monday, February 26, 2024 at the age of 82. Alice was born in Maastricht, Netherlands to Jan and Saapke de Vos on June 19, 1941. She was the 3rd youngest in a family of 8 children consisting of four girls and three boys. She immigrated to Canada by boat in 1957, along with her parents and siblings. After landing in Montreal, Quebec they took the train to New Westminster, BC. In her first years in Canada, Alice worked as a housekeeper for a lady there and then as a nurse’s aide in the hospital in New Westminster. After moving to Smithers, she worked a few years in the Smithers hospital.

Alice met her husband Mike in Smithers at her brother’s wedding in Smithers in 1962 and they were married on June 21, 1963, in New Westminster. Alice and Mike set up their first little house in Smithers on the back alley of Railway Avenue.  They were blessed with a family of 9 children, 2 girls and 7 boys, all born in Smithers. After the family started growing, they bought acreage on Seymour Lake Road and they built a small house first and then together they designed and built their bigger house where Alice lived till she passed away.

Tragically, on May 25th 1983, her husband died suddenly in a car/train accident on his way to the saw mill. Alice was a widow with 9 children. Most of the family was still living at home and Alice raised her children on her own and was a widow for 42 years.

Alice loved sewing and after a few years of raising her family, she bought the Bridal Salon on Main Street and sewed many wedding and bridesmaid dresses and ordered many suits for many customers. After a few years of running the Main Street store, she closed the store and did her sewing for the customers from her home.

She volunteered for many years at the Highroads and Friendship with the special needs people doing crafts there. She volunteered at the Smithers Public Library and loved reading books. She was a choir conductor in the church for a few years and also worked at the Ebenezer school teaching sewing class there. She loved her flowers and gardens and she planted many of her flowers from her own seed. Music played a big part in her life. Alice loved spending time with her children and families and her grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.  Alice loved the Lord and was comforted in knowing that He was her Saviour.

Alice will be dearly missed by her children: Audrey (Wally), Kathy (Alan), John (Sheila), Mike (Jenice), Brian, Dwayne (Carrie), Rob (Angie), Collin, Alex (Jodi) and her 30 grandchildren and 31 great grandchildren

She will be missed by her two remaining sisters in Canada (Ina, Thea) and her one sister-in-law in the Netherlands (Itje).  

Alice was pre-deceased by her husband Mike and her older siblings, Ann, Yt, John, Henk, Ben.  She was also pre-deceased by her first grandson Jeremy.

We wish to thank the compassionate staff of the Bulkley Valley District Hospital, 3rd Floor Nursing Unit, Emergency Room, Palliative Care, and Drs. Preto and Kotze, for their support and care.

The Funeral Service for Alice will take place on Friday, March 8, 2024 at the Smithers Canadian Reformed Church at 2:00 PM. A private burial service will take place prior to the funeral service at the Smithers graveside.

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