Hans Sanders

Hans Toon Sanders (July 12, 1935 - May 23, 2024)

On May 23, 2024, Hans Toon Sanders, dear husband of Erna, dad of Angélique and Wendy, father-in-law of Allan, Opa of Lucas and Ema, peacefully passed away at the age of 88, at home, surrounded by his beloved family. So involved in life, until the end!

Hans was born in Enschede, The Netherlands being the eldest son in a family of nine, coming from the fourth generation of a family of Iron, Brass & White Metal foundries and machine & engine manufacturers. Hans was passionate about his genealogy, as he researched his family tree all the way back to Conradt Sanders in 1620 AD (Denekamp, The Netherlands).

While in the Netherlands, Hans served in the Royal Dutch Navy in several positions for six years. Then he moved onto different business ventures, such as director of an Automation Centre and later the president of a Transport and Distribution centre.

In November 1980, Hans and his family immigrated to Canada and established themselves initially in Toronto, Ontario. Hans was an entrepreneur and had many interests he wanted to explore, which often related to financial planning and also management information systems consulting work. He also gave a lot of his time for charitable work with various organizations.

Hans loved his life and his family. He was always willing to help family and friends, as well as his community. He enjoyed sharing a story or two and making many jokes to get a laugh. He liked repairing things and the grandkids would often come to Opa for help. He was passionate about reading and was often seen with a book in hand, a tablet in front of him, or seated in his beloved office where he researched many topics of interest on his computer. His passions didn't end there, as he also created projects on the computer, enjoying many hours on the design work and then getting the fruits of his labour printed. Hans continued to enjoy all these things in his retirement and he continued to have as many questions as answers to stimulate his life. He was a lifelong learner and shared that passion with others!

Hans will surely be missed by his family, extended family in the Netherlands, and friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 1, 2024 from 3 - 5 pm in the Trafalgar Room at the Jones Funeral Home, 11582 Trafalgar Road, Georgetown, Ontario, L7G 4S4 (905-877-3631)

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to https://cancerassistance.org/donate/.