John Garenkooper was an endearing, flamboyant contributor to the Lantzville community. (Submitted photo)

By Ian Holmes

Endearing personality

‘He was not an introvert:’ beloved Lantzville man remembered for significant contributions

Sep 5, 2025 | 5:24 AM

LANTZVILLE — Early life adversity in Nazi-occupied Holland spawned a grateful, colourful and generous community builder who left a profound legacy.

A public gathering for John Garenkooper was held at his waterfront property at the base of Lantzville’s Harper Rd. on Wednesday, Sept. 3, on what would have been his 90th birthday.

He passed away unexpectedly last October at Nanaimo hospital following a brief illness. His wife Marie-Louise pre-deceased Garenkooper by four years.

Well known locally as a recognizable volunteer for many charitable and community-driven causes, Garenkooper was the friendly, unofficial ambassador of the beachfront paradise where he lived for over 30 years.

Garenkooper’s daughter, Gina, holds his father’s ashes which were spread in the ocean on Wednesday, Sept. 3. Several of his friends took advantage of favourable weather to take a refreshing swim in his honour (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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Whether it was dressing up for the annual polar bear dip he organized, operating a Salvation Army kettle, singing for seniors, or providing wisdom during times of need, neighbour Geri Reamer said Garenkooper was highly cherished by many people.

“He was just out there, he was not an introvert by any means, he had a wide circle of friends,” Reamer told NanaimoNewsNOW at Garenkooper’s birthday celebration.

Reamer said about 20 years ago, Garenkooper organized a New Year’s Day polar bear swim, eventually morphing into a popular annual attraction.

A charismatic masked Garenkooper beating a drum was commonplace during the spectacle.

“It started out very small and grew gradually to be quite a big gathering,” Reamer said.

An early version of the Lantzville polar bear swim. The event has drawn in the range of 100 people in recent years. (Submitted photo)

Garenkooper was keenly aware of the needs of others, Reamer said.

“He had a heart for helping people. I have a neighbour that was injured, and John, right up until the week before he died, was wanting to visit him.”

John Dunn said his close friend had immense gratitude for his life in Canada.

Garenkooper periodically reflected on his anguished childhood during the Second World War as German soldiers occupied the Netherlands.

Dunn said Garenkooper spoke proudly of his family and neighbours who hid and cared for a downed Allied airman.

“Everybody knew but the Germans. They passed him around until he could get back to the Allies,” Dunn said.

Garenkooper at the Lantzville Cenotaph in recognition of the Netherlands Liberation Day. On May 5, 1945 German occupying soldiers officially surrendered to Allied forces in Holland, concluding five years of Nazi Germany rule (Lantzville Community Hub/Facebook)

Remembrance Day was “very important to him,” said friend and fellow St. Philip by-the-Sea Anglican Church congregational member Doug. Sowden, who expanded on Garenkooper’s hostile early childhood in suburban Amsterdam.

“John had stories that he would tell, what it was like to be seven years old and starving,” Sowden recounted.

An Allied forces dispatch driver gave a starving Garenkooper two chocolate bars: he ate one and saved the other for his needy family.

“He had never been so sick in his life because he had been on a diet of turnips, the Nazis had tried to starve out the population of the Netherlands,” Sowden said.

Garenkooper and his family managed to escape Amsterdam on a boat to his grandfather’s farm.

Garenkooper would later serve five years in the Dutch army before moving to Canada in the 1950s.

He was a member of Lantzville Legion and Nanaimo-based Royal Canadian Air Force 808 Thunderbird Wing.

His extensive list of community contributions included a keen interest in education, serving as a district 68 school board trustee.

Garenkooper’s home-made election signs evidently weren’t a hindrance in obtaining an extended run as a School District 68 trustee (Submitted photo)

Garenkooper loved the ocean, happily taking part in crabbing, shellfish harvesting, beachcombing, and occasionally fishing.

“He had his favourite oyster bed; I’m under oath and obligation not to reveal where it is,” Sowden chuckled.

Garenkooper was perhaps most widely known for his passion for swimming and his association with Lantzville’s annual polar bear swim.

By all accounts, he swam daily, regardless of the season.

John Burrows consistently swam with Garenkooper for years, including leading up to his death.

Burrows called Garenkooper exceptionally positive, endearing and likable.

Garenkooper felt liberated by swimming Lantzville’s pristine shoreline off his property, Burrows said.

“We’re both ocean swimmers. He would do one every day…we connected over the ocean, most of our conversations were about swimming.”

Burrows said Garenkooper generously offered up his prized backyard for the convenience of others.

“He just let people leave their paddleboards and their kayaks and stuff in his yard and that’s just the guy he was, just a happy, happy guy. Too bad there’s not more people like that” Burrows said.

Friends sharing stories about the impactful life of John Garenkooper. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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