It's with a heavy heart that I offer my deepest condolences to Aunt Elly, Caroline, Auntie Liz, Ome Han, and all the rest of the family.
My Dad may have been the Storimans patriarch of his generation, but Uncle Theo was definitely its pioneer. Leaving the Netherlands with almost nothing, he saved until he could send for his beloved Elly and marry her. For a time, they lived on a street in Winnipeg where you wouldn’t walk your Rotweiler nowadays, but they worked hard and eventually prospered.
As a child, I had almost more uncles than I could count, but Uncle Theo was always the goofy, mischievous one of the bunch.
We didn't get off to the best start in life though. I was 3 or 4, when he was tossing me in the air and catching me one day, until he accidentally burned my cheek with his cigarette. I don't think I forgave him til I was 9. That was when my parents packed up all the kids in Holland, and moved into Theo and Elly's small apartment for a month, during a sweltering summer. Every evening, Uncle would ship my oldest sister and I off to friends' homes to spend the night, and return the next morning. One day, he took me on his milk route and let me drink all the chocolate milk I wanted. On weekends, the 11 of us would hop in his car, and he would take us to see Pine Falls, Winnipeg Beach and the Whiteshell. That's when my lifelong love affair with the Canadian Shield began.
I recall that my brother and I would join our Dad for weekends in Dugald, helping Uncle Theo build his family home. I think that was what started an interest in building trades that now spans 4 generations.
He was notorious for swearing and telling off-colour jokes, even when there were kids present. Auntie would scold him for it, but the smile never left her face while she did.
Even as a child, I could see that they were no ordinary couple. You could see the love in their faces and in the way they treated the girls, and it was clear to me that they were still in love the last time I saw them.
In true Dutch (and Winnipeg) fashion, Uncle Theo took pride in being able to score a bargain, get something free, or get the better of someone in a deal, and most of the time, he did.
Those are my memories of Uncle Theo, his generosity, his love for his family, his shrewd ambition and that silly sense of humour!
