HEINZ OTTO VERDENHALVEN May 23, 1943 January 29, 2023 With sadness beyond all measure, we announce the sudden passing of our beloved Heinz on January 29, 2023, at the age of 79 at his much-loved winter getaway at Forest Lake Estates, Zephyrhills, Florida, with his primary residence being in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Heinz is survived by his best friend & loving wife of 50 years Sylvia (nee Butler), adored & much-loved father of daughter Kelly (Andrew) Griffiths & walking-talking-things-over-buddy son Tyler. Heinz was proud to be called Opa by his two grandchildren Madelyn & Colby. He is survived & loved by sister Anita (Peter) Schulze & brother Henry (Linda). Everyone loved Heinz. 65 " in stature (that " was very important to Heinz) & often referred to as a gentle giant, always smiling, never saying a bad word about anyone, a non-confrontational man but strong in his beliefs & not to be trod upon. Heinz was born in Bremervorde, Germany to Meta (nee Kohrs) & Johann Verdenhalven (both pre-deceased) & came to Canada at the age of 11. Heinz & Sylvia met in the North Toronto Ski Club on one of the weekend trips this one to Kissing Bridge. They were married one year later on Dec. 16th, 1972, and this past December they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with family at the top of the CN Tower in Toronto. Heinz & Sylvia traveled extensively making friends along the way. Heinz always felt there was no place like home & considered himself so lucky to be graced by living in Canada. He was a graduate of Ryerson & worked for 30+ years in a job he loved for Long Manufacturing (Dana), Oakville, in the design and operation of integrated systems for the production of high-quality auto-related products. Heinz loved the beautiful ring he received upon retirement & wore it proudly until he passed. Heinz was an avid golfer he loved playing the game & watching the pros play every weekend on TV. We know he would have been excited to be watching this years Masters. He was an intelligent man, very good in Trivia, rarely missed an episode of Jeopardy, and caught up on local & world news every day, but his absolute favorite show was 60 Minutes every Sunday night. Heinz enjoyed the camaraderie with the Among Friends Dinner Club for over 30 years. He also enjoyed and wanted to be kept informed of the goal-getting achievements of grandson Colby & the astronomically high marks of granddaughter Madelyn. He was so proud of them & the fact that his two children Kelly & Tyler turned out to be such fine people. Heinzs favorite song for many years has been I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash he said it was a sunshiny song that perked him up whenever he heard it & it will be incorporated in his Celebration of Life on April 30th. Cremation arrangements were handled in Florida by Hodges Family Funeral Home with an interment to be in Oakville. In lieu of flowers, do a Random Act of Kindness (let someone skip you in the checkout line invite a friend out for coffee pay for someone behind you in the drive-through get the family together maybe you can think of something). A Celebration of Life Remembering Heinz - will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 30th, 2023, at Glen Abbey United Church, 1469 Nottinghill Gate, Oakville.