February 24, 1947 - January 29, 2019
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Frank Debruyn on January 29th, 2019, a few days after suffering cardiac arrest. He was predeceased by his parents Jan and Annie de Bruijn, and is survived by his brother Erik de Bruijn (Angela) and cousins in California and the Netherlands.
Frank was born in Amsterdam in 1947 and moved to Port Alberni in 1951 with his parents and brother. He graduated from ADHS and completed his apprenticeship as an electrician at BCIT, then worked at Alberni Pulp and Paper for 20 years until taking early retirement.
Frank had a life-long love of cars, and enjoyed working on them. In his younger days, he was a keen skier and waterskier. He maintained an orchard of fruit trees on his property, and enjoyed grafting new varieties onto his trees. He was an avid and knowledgeable amateur astronomer, owning a number of telescopes and spending many nights observing the heavens. He was particularly interested in mining and mineralogy, and the historical mining activities in the Alberni Valley.
Frank's father Jan was his best friend and companion, and together with family friend Andrew Whytock, they loved to go hiking and exploring in the back country, following old logging railways and searching for abandoned mines. During the years before his father's death in 2005, Frank was the main support and caregiver, and he felt the loss of his father immensely. He is now at peace with no more worries or concerns.
Cremation has taken place. By request, there will be no service. Our thanks to the staff at West Coast General Hospital ICU and Nanaimo Regional General Hospital ICU and Palliative Care for their compassionate care of Frank.