William Geertse's Obituary
William “Bill” Geertse was born in Middleburg, Holland January 2, 1936 to Pieter Geertse and Greta DeNooyer and died October 3, 2016 from complications from a stroke and dementia. At the age of 9 Bill moved from Holland with his father to London, Ontario, Canada where he became a Canadian citizen. While in London, he received a General Contractors license in commercial construction, building several of the governmental buildings. In 1956 he met Christina Orr through a family friend and they married the same year. At the age of 26 he moved his family to Fort Myers, Florida where he continued his General Contracting career and received his US citizenship in 1976.Bill was employed by the city of Cape Coral for 20 years, retiring in 1996 from the position of Project Manager of the city’s utility expansion project. Bill was a very kind, friendly person who never met a stranger. He loved fine autos, music, dancing, Canadian beer and especially gardening around his house. He also loved traveling, having visited over 10 countries. Bill was past master of the Cape Coral Masonic Lodge and continued his membership until his death. He was truly a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend. He will be sadly missed by all and will keep him in their hearts with fond memories of his tall tales and entertaining antics.Bill is survived by his wife of 59 years, Christina, daughters Heather Diane Rockow (Sherman), Michelle Annette Preiss (Calvin), Stephanie Simone Hahn (Daniel), son William Kristopher, grandchildren Jay Rockow, Richard Pearson, Jessica Foster, Kiah Geertse and Jordan Geertse. Memorial Services will be at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens on Friday October 14 at 11:00 am.Online condolences may be offered at: www.fortmyersmemorial.com.
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