Obituary for Brent Douglas VanEvery
VanEVERY, Brent Douglas
A member of the St. Catharines community for the past 10 years, passed away on January 15, 2022. After a long courageous battle with lung cancer Brent, 57, heroically took the enemy down in a final standoff at the St. Catharines General Hospital.
Brent was born on October 20, 1964 in Toronto, Ontario and was adopted by Doug and Pauline Fretz at age 6 months. They lived in Scarborough, Ontario.
After the tragic loss of Doug, Brent's mother took a second husband, Ken VanEvery. Ken adopted Brent and the family began a life in Fenton, Michigan, USA. Ken’s son, Craig, and later, Wade, made it three brothers.
Brent attended school at Lake Fenton High. He played the cornet and performed in the school’s marching band. His love of music led to him starting a DJ service with a couple of band mates back in the days of vinyl, before the digital revolution.
Following graduation, drawn by a passage in the bible “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” and with the promise of being able to parachute jump out of airplanes, Brent joined the US Army. He trained at Fort Bragg, NC to become a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. Invigorated by the challenge of learning new critical skills Brent excelled, earning many awards and discovering the thrill of putting his “knees in the breeze” under a round canopy parachute.
Alas things turned serious when he was called to duty, barely married to his first wife, Marsha. In December of 1989 he parachuted into Panama with the 82nd AD during Operation Just Cause, the take down of Noriega.
This life changing event was followed by deployment to Iraq for Desert Shield in 1990 and Desert Storm in 1991. The bond with his brothers in arms was deeply forged and remained for his whole life.
After the Army, Brent returned to school and earned his degree as a teacher. He was always looking for a way to enrich the lives of those around him. Challenges in the school system and a restlessness he blamed on his name which means “wanderer” eventually drew him back to Canada where he became a journeyman crane operator in Fort McMurray, Alberta. After experiencing the harsh desert weather in Iraq he was not deterred by the environment of a northern Alberta winter.
Boom times faded however and the isolation no longer appealing, he eventually found himself in Ontario where he still had family. Settling in St. Catharines he met his destined to be second wife. His can-do attitude and extensive skill set made him stand out and he found himself employed with Hydro One.
Through what had to be ”spooky action at a distance” he was found by a group called “Round Canopy Parachute Team” drawn once again by the promise of jumping out of airplanes. The brotherly bond was rekindled and in the spring of 2019 he and his fiancé went to Normandy with the group to participate in the 75th Anniversary of D-Day. The thrill of jumping out of WWII aircraft was only eclipsed by the incredibly humbling experience of meeting so many amazing Veterans, hearing their stories and bonding over the shared humanity.
Brent was outgoing and left an impression on everyone he met. He enjoyed nature and was an accomplished skier. He traveled extensively and loved the mountains. Brent studied martial arts and was a deeply spiritual person. His most used expression had to be “Peace and love”.
He ran marathons and loved to cook, especially game meats. He loved music and believed learning was a lifelong endeavour. His sense of humour, resolve to keep an open mind and his ability to relate to many different people meant that he found and kept many friends in his lifetime.
He was called back into battle in late April of 2021 with a diagnosis of lung cancer and brain metastasis.
In true Airborne fashion Brent has gone ahead. He is survived by his wife, Geriann (nee Duns), mother, Pauline Hutcheson, and her husband, Win, brothers, Craig VanEvery (Chrissy) and Wade VanEvery (Becky). Sisters & brother-in-law; Connie Tracey (Rick), Joanne Merritt (Paul), Cheryl Klassen (Bill) and Bruce Duns (Sheri). Aunts and Uncles; Carolyn and Eric Bradshaw, Gary Higgins, Harvey, Glen, Art, Donnie & Maryann Fretz,and Sandra Masters. Nieces and nephews; Holly Hiltz, Brittany Ceasar (Nick), Nick, Sean, Craig, Ian & Michelle VanEvery, Leah (Cam), Erinn (Tory), Kevin (Joanna), Matthew, Holly (Jeremy), Jordan (Steve), Katie (Iain), Jake, Taylor (Christa), Danielle (Andrew), Courtney, Wesley and many great nieces and nephews. Cousins; Lisa Cairns, Shannon (Noah, Griffen) Sultani, Erika Sultani, Devon DeValkenaere, Candace and Rob Moreau, Shawn Bradshaw and Erin Bradshaw.
Cremation has taken place and a celebration of life will be announced at a later date when gathering is possible. Special thanks to the amazing staff at HHS - Juravinski Hospital and NHS - Walker Family Cancer Center and NHS - St. Catharines Site, Dr. Wasserman and Susan, Dr. Conan, Jan, Martha, Steph, Tara and the LDAP team, the nurses from Paramed and the Oncology nurses.
Donations to NHS-Walker Cancer Center and Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum would be appreciated.
“Peace and love.”
Arrangements entrusted to Considerate Cremation & Burial Services, 26 Nihan Drive, St. Catharines (between Lake Street & Scott Street), 289-362-1144. Online condolences may be made at CCBSCares.ca
A member of the St. Catharines community for the past 10 years, passed away on January 15, 2022. After a long courageous battle with lung cancer Brent, 57, heroically took the enemy down in a final standoff at the St. Catharines General Hospital.
Brent was born on October 20, 1964 in Toronto, Ontario and was adopted by Doug and Pauline Fretz at age 6 months. They lived in Scarborough, Ontario.
After the tragic loss of Doug, Brent's mother took a second husband, Ken VanEvery. Ken adopted Brent and the family began a life in Fenton, Michigan, USA. Ken’s son, Craig, and later, Wade, made it three brothers.
Brent attended school at Lake Fenton High. He played the cornet and performed in the school’s marching band. His love of music led to him starting a DJ service with a couple of band mates back in the days of vinyl, before the digital revolution.
Following graduation, drawn by a passage in the bible “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” and with the promise of being able to parachute jump out of airplanes, Brent joined the US Army. He trained at Fort Bragg, NC to become a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. Invigorated by the challenge of learning new critical skills Brent excelled, earning many awards and discovering the thrill of putting his “knees in the breeze” under a round canopy parachute.
Alas things turned serious when he was called to duty, barely married to his first wife, Marsha. In December of 1989 he parachuted into Panama with the 82nd AD during Operation Just Cause, the take down of Noriega.
This life changing event was followed by deployment to Iraq for Desert Shield in 1990 and Desert Storm in 1991. The bond with his brothers in arms was deeply forged and remained for his whole life.
After the Army, Brent returned to school and earned his degree as a teacher. He was always looking for a way to enrich the lives of those around him. Challenges in the school system and a restlessness he blamed on his name which means “wanderer” eventually drew him back to Canada where he became a journeyman crane operator in Fort McMurray, Alberta. After experiencing the harsh desert weather in Iraq he was not deterred by the environment of a northern Alberta winter.
Boom times faded however and the isolation no longer appealing, he eventually found himself in Ontario where he still had family. Settling in St. Catharines he met his destined to be second wife. His can-do attitude and extensive skill set made him stand out and he found himself employed with Hydro One.
Through what had to be ”spooky action at a distance” he was found by a group called “Round Canopy Parachute Team” drawn once again by the promise of jumping out of airplanes. The brotherly bond was rekindled and in the spring of 2019 he and his fiancé went to Normandy with the group to participate in the 75th Anniversary of D-Day. The thrill of jumping out of WWII aircraft was only eclipsed by the incredibly humbling experience of meeting so many amazing Veterans, hearing their stories and bonding over the shared humanity.
Brent was outgoing and left an impression on everyone he met. He enjoyed nature and was an accomplished skier. He traveled extensively and loved the mountains. Brent studied martial arts and was a deeply spiritual person. His most used expression had to be “Peace and love”.
He ran marathons and loved to cook, especially game meats. He loved music and believed learning was a lifelong endeavour. His sense of humour, resolve to keep an open mind and his ability to relate to many different people meant that he found and kept many friends in his lifetime.
He was called back into battle in late April of 2021 with a diagnosis of lung cancer and brain metastasis.
In true Airborne fashion Brent has gone ahead. He is survived by his wife, Geriann (nee Duns), mother, Pauline Hutcheson, and her husband, Win, brothers, Craig VanEvery (Chrissy) and Wade VanEvery (Becky). Sisters & brother-in-law; Connie Tracey (Rick), Joanne Merritt (Paul), Cheryl Klassen (Bill) and Bruce Duns (Sheri). Aunts and Uncles; Carolyn and Eric Bradshaw, Gary Higgins, Harvey, Glen, Art, Donnie & Maryann Fretz,and Sandra Masters. Nieces and nephews; Holly Hiltz, Brittany Ceasar (Nick), Nick, Sean, Craig, Ian & Michelle VanEvery, Leah (Cam), Erinn (Tory), Kevin (Joanna), Matthew, Holly (Jeremy), Jordan (Steve), Katie (Iain), Jake, Taylor (Christa), Danielle (Andrew), Courtney, Wesley and many great nieces and nephews. Cousins; Lisa Cairns, Shannon (Noah, Griffen) Sultani, Erika Sultani, Devon DeValkenaere, Candace and Rob Moreau, Shawn Bradshaw and Erin Bradshaw.
Cremation has taken place and a celebration of life will be announced at a later date when gathering is possible. Special thanks to the amazing staff at HHS - Juravinski Hospital and NHS - Walker Family Cancer Center and NHS - St. Catharines Site, Dr. Wasserman and Susan, Dr. Conan, Jan, Martha, Steph, Tara and the LDAP team, the nurses from Paramed and the Oncology nurses.
Donations to NHS-Walker Cancer Center and Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum would be appreciated.
“Peace and love.”
Arrangements entrusted to Considerate Cremation & Burial Services, 26 Nihan Drive, St. Catharines (between Lake Street & Scott Street), 289-362-1144. Online condolences may be made at CCBSCares.ca