My Dad fell in love with my Mom at first sight. His sister Tina, who was training as a nurse in Kingston Ontario, brought her friend Helen home for the weekend. John saw her descending the stairs in his parents home, and she was wearing a pink sweater that she had knitted herself.
When he saw her, John thought to himself, "That is the girl I want to marry." So during her training, he got up the nerve to write her a letter saying, "To make a long story short, I love you and will you marry me? Can we start dating soon?"
Their first date was Valentine's Day, and they were engaged a month later. Helen took John home to Alexander, Manitoba to meet her parents and for him to ask permission to marry their daughter.
Henry Derksen took an instant dislike to John. He didn't want him to take away his daughter, and he definitely didn't like his wavy red hair. However, Helen ended up threatening to elope, and that solved the issue. They married a year later in 1951 at the Alexander United Church with a reception to follow in the machine shed on the farm.
John and Helen Goertzen began their life together in Grimsby, Ontario with John working at the local Grimsby Garage in the parts department, and Helen as a nurse at the Lincoln Memorial Hospital. Their two daughters, June and Faye rounded out the family in the following years.
In 1966, the family moved to Winnipeg to be closer to Helen's family. She had many supportive brothers and sisters, and the girls had many cousins to become friends with. However, John's relationship with his father-in-law remained tense for many years.
Henry was gradually won over to become friends with John following the death of grandmother Anna, and when Henry visited, he and John played checkers together. I believe checkers was the clincher.
I was at Red River College taking the Advertising Art course, and one of my assignments was to always be sketching. This sketch of my Dad and Opa playing checkers together is one of my favourite memories.
