Obituary of Joseph deRyk

With a new curling season ahead and a few crops left to harvest, Joseph Hypolutes de Ryk died suddenly on November 10, 2014 in his 77th year. Born in St. Thomas, Ontario on March 19, 1938, Joe was a life-long resident of Elgin County. He will be dearly missed by his wife of 53 years, Ann (Levoy) and his children Elaine of Montreal, Susan (Dave) of Georgetown and Joe (Julie) of Malahide Township. He will be missed by his grandchildren, Brock, Craig, Sarah and Brittany. Joe is survived by his siblings: Paul (Carol), Bob (Pat), Mary Wells (Mike), and brother-in-law Barry Davidson. Uncle Joe will be missed by his many nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his infant daughter, Ann Marie (1964), his parents, Paul and Germaine de Ryk and his sister, Betty Davidson. A dedicated volunteer, Joe was a founding member of the Malahide No. 1 Fire Department and served as a Captain and Deputy Chief during his 37 years tenure. He was Past Grand Knight of Aylmer 4189 Knights of Columbus, Past District Grand Knight for Elgin County and served 12 years as President and member of the Elgin Co-op Board of Directors. Joe was a long-time director for the Aylmer Curling Club and served as President twice. He was most recently the Ontario Curling Association representative for Men's Leagues for the Curling Club and a member of The Queen of Peace Cemetery Board. In addition to volunteering, Joe enjoyed watching sports of all kinds from football to figure skating. Along with being a long-time curler, Joe was a regular on the slo-pitch diamond when played for the Aylmer Astros during the 1980s. Joe was passionate about firefighting and curling, but his true calling was farming. Joe started growing tobacco in 1962, expanded to include cash crops and continued farming until his last day. Funeral visitation will be at H. A. Kebbel Funeral Home, 119 Talbot St. E., Aylmer on Thursday, November 13 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, November 14 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with prayers at 11:00 a.m. The funeral service, officiated by Father Ross Bartley will be held Saturday at 12 noon at Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, 116 John Street, Aylmer. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Holy Angels' Church Restoration Fund.