Born in Arnhem, Holland, Johan Kassenaar was raised during the chaotic periods of the Depression and the Second World War.
His youngest daughter, Lisa, recounted his childhood friendship with a young Audrey Hepburn. She was one of the kids with whom he walked to school. At her house, her mother would make them pancakes.
When the topic came up later in life, as it often did, the elderly Kassenaar would downplay any celebrity references. Yet, that happy and notable memory remained amid a time of turmoil.
“He really grew up in absolutely Nazi-occupied territory,” said Lisa. “It was a very dramatic story as a child, a kid watching it all go on.”
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John Kassenaar as a student in Holland in the 1930s.
Lisa noted that her father was able to help his father work with the Dutch Resistance, in part because, as a young teenager, he was still allowed a bicycle.
“When tires ran out, he wrapped garden hose around his wheels and bumped along over the bulky joint,” Lisa explained. “After the Battle of Arnhem, which he witnessed from a rooftop, the family evacuated north to an old farmhouse. When they returned, his Boy Scout troop escorted Allied soldiers around the damaged city. His photo saluting Queen Wilhelmina appeared in the Knickerbocker News.”
In 1951, at 21, John — as he came to be known — left his country of origin to begin a new chapter, boarding a freighter to Montreal with two duffel bags and $175, and making his way to the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College.
It was on the Guelph campus that Kassenaar met Johanna. They graduated in 1956 and married two weeks later, moving to Winnipeg in 1957.
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John Kassenaar and Johanna were married in Guelph, Ont. in 1956.
Kassenaar was excited about a new life on the Canadian Prairies. His optimism, enthusiasm and gratitude would serve him well in everything he did, because no matter what he did, he did it with passion and presence, creating meaningful connections and leaving a lasting impact.
The couple’s move to Winnipeg was the start of a long and fulfilling life together. Married 67 years, John and Johanna had three children and seven grandchildren, embracing life’s adventures along the way.
Kassenaar died on Dec. 13, 2023, at age 94.
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The Kassenaar family, Dirk (left) Johanna, Lisa, AJ and John, at Johanna’s 90th birthday in March, 2022.
At Dominion Malting Ltd., Kassenaar rose through the ranks to eventually become president of the company. He modernized the Dugald Road plant with innovative new systems and expanded Canada’s reach in the malting industry with sales to Japan, Australia, and beyond.
A colleague for 33 years, Bob Kenyon remembers enjoying the occasional beverage with John after a particularly full day.
“He loved a nice cold beer. He was a very knowledgeable person,” Kenyon said. “He was firm but fair with employees, a very hospitable guy. He had some experiences during the war. He didn’t like to talk a lot about that … probably had some effect on him. He appreciated Canada.”
There were numerous business trips over the years and Kenyon appreciated his congenial travel partner.
“Once a year we would go to Japan to visit customers there. Those were very memorable trips; to be hosted around Japan was nice. We went to conventions together. My wife and his wife would come along to Brewmasters conventions. We saw a lot of North America. He was a good guy to work with.”
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At Dominion Malting Ltd., Kassenaar rose through the ranks to eventually become president of the company.
Kassenaar was actively engaged in countless activities, including community volunteering in everything from sports to the arts.
He co-chaired the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in 1971 and loved skiing in LaBarriere and Birds Hill parks. At age 61, he ventured up the Everest Base Camp, despite learning along the way that he had vertigo. He played squash at the Winnipeg Winter Club and, in retirement, joined the Granite Curling Club.
Kassenaar was heavily involved with the Winnipeg Art Gallery in a variety of roles. He and his wife were huge supporters of the local arts community, attending hundreds of Manitoba Theatre Centre, Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Prairie Theatre Exchange performances. Their shared love of Inuit art connected them to the country they loved and appreciated so deeply.
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John and Johanna Kassenaar, seen here viewing the WAG exhibition at Journey to Churchill.
In 1971, the couple purchased a cottage on an island and for more than 50 years Lake of the Woods became a treasured gathering place.
“They loved to go there. They loved the nature,” Lisa said. “Dad loved the lake so much, the expanse of it and the natural beauty of it. He loved Canada, the part of it that was being in nature, the water, the animals, standing on the dock watching loons and beavers, going out fishing. He was a great gardener.
“The Dutch are very connected with the earth, the expanse of it. He was so proud of having come to Canada.”
Lisa recalls her father’s relentless determination at the lake one year in particular. Intent on watching the Olympics in Montreal, he was going to do what was necessary to make that possible. So on an island without hydro lines, Kassenaar figured it out and the family watched the Olympics thanks to his resourcefulness and a generator.
Longtime neighbour and family friend Elske Hildes-Ripstein remembers “Kass” at the cottage.
“He was an avid ‘laker’ who enjoyed all of it: the pleasurable fishing, boating, watching and supporting his children all learn to sail, as well as towing innumerable boats to the local Zigzag Yacht Club for races,” Hildes-Ripstein said.
“He also enjoyed the hard work — painting, cleaning windows and eavestroughs, building rafts and docks and decks, cutting new paths, fixing motors, and keeping everything in tiptop shape. He could fix anything, including 1940s propane fridges.
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John Kassenaar in 2007 at his cottage in Lake of the Woods, which was a treasured gathering place.
“His ongoing war with the beavers included a ‘potato gun’ to scare them off, and he carefully extended his boathouse door with chicken wire when the water was low to keep out bats. Another interesting project was growing shiitake mushrooms on his special oak logs.”
Hildes-Ripstein described Kassenaar as very much a family man who enjoyed his children and grandchildren, with many memories made around campfires with stick bannock and favourite campfire songs.
“Although Canada was his chosen home, he celebrated his Dutch heritage by proudly flying a Dutch flag beside his Canadian one at the cottage. No one could miss he had grown up in Holland, as his thick accent was a giveaway, as well as his love for orange jerseys (the national team colours). John leaves a proud legacy of hard work, family and dedication to others.”
“He was a very enterprising guy,” said Lisa of her father. “He was kind of a renaissance man. He was interested in the world. He had opinions about how things should go, but he was a very forward-looking, enterprising, devoted and loving person.”