Passed away following a long and hard fought illness on Wednesday November 30, 2016 at the Bob Rumble Home, Barrie at the age of 87. He is survived by members of his family both in the Netherlands and in Ontario, most notably his son, Jerry Verbey and his wife, Rosemary Steep-Verbey, daughters Maryann Verbey, Valerie Cook and her husband Todd Cook. He is also survived by daughters Helene Podstawka and Sonya West along with grandchildren and great grandchildren and many good friends. His late beloved wife Margaret Clark-Verbey passed November 26, 2015.
Born in Boskoop Netherlands, the son of Adreanus and Helena (Verbij) Verbey, John served in the armed forces in the Netherlands, and in due course moved to the Barrie Ontario area in 1953 at the age of 24 where he became a lifelong resident. This is where he raised his family and worked at General Tire. Eventually John started his own landscaping business, which he not only took great pride in, but also truly relished the friends he made during his time in business. John was an avid fisherman and loved the outdoors. He hauled his fishing boat and camper with his wife Margaret who, at the time was well into his 70’s all over Ontario. He had the opportunity to travel globally and often visited family in his home country of Holland. He loved sports, most notably football and hockey and, of course, the Netherlands National football team.
John will be remembered for his perceptive sense of humour, the appreciation that sometimes the simplest things in life are those that should be most cherished. He valued and respected all of the caring and compassionate team at Bob Rumble and how they always treated him with great concern and kindness. A memorial service will be held 1:30-3:30 December 16 at the Bob Rumble Home, #1 Royal Parkside Drive Barrie. In lieu of flowers, the family would like to request that donations be made to the Bob Rumble Home (Barrie).