Brita Gerda Zeldenrust neé de Vries

Mar 24, 2021

16 October 1923 – March 18, 2021

Our dear mother Brita passed away peacefully in Victoria, BC, on March 18 due to complications related to strokes, at the age of 97. She was predeceased by her husband Yke (Nick) in 2015, and her brother Henk in 1978. She is survived by her daughters Ellen (Michel Desjardins), Marian (John Hammond) and Caroline (Camille Gosselin) seven grandchildren (Adrien, Simon, Bonnie, Jackie, Michael, Sophie, and Emma), two great grandchildren (Dominic and Aleya), nephew Marten de Vries (Nancy Nicolson), and sister-in-law Joanne Zeldenrust (Gerrit Jan).

Brita and Nick lived on Bordenwood Road near Henderson, Ontario for 30 years, and enjoyed being part of the Frontenac community.

Our mother had a rich and varied life. Born in Hilversum, the Netherlands, she grew up in Bogor, Indonesia, where her parents were teachers. When Indonesia was invaded by Japan in 1942, Brita and her parents were interned in concentration camps for three years. When the war ended, Brita returned to the Netherlands by ship, and entered medical school at the University of Amsterdam. She married Nick in 1950 and received her medical degree in 1953.

In 1954, Nick and Brita emigrated to Canada with their first baby. Two more daughters were born in Regina; and in this new country, with a new language, Brita was licensed as a Canadian physician in 1960. The family moved to Southey, Saskatchewan in 1963 where Brita embarked on solo general practice for 13 years. Brita formed strong bonds with this farming community as their first female physician. After her experience with wartime imprisonment and starvation she was grateful for the opportunity to practice medicine and to give back to Canada, which she loved deeply.

In 1976, Brita and Nick retired. Living on their Douglas 32 sailboat Kemana, they set out from Vancouver and travelled throughout the Pacific Ocean for the next eight years, navigating by sextant. Their return trip took them through the Panama Canal, up the Eastern Seaboard and via the inland waterway to Kingston Ontario in 1984. Here they restored an old farmhouse in Bordenwood, where Brita loved to tend her large vegetable garden and many flowers. She later wrote a book about their sailing adventure. Following Nick’s death, she moved to Waterloo, and in 2017 to Victoria.

We extend heartfelt thanks to Dr. Matthew Vaughan and the dedicated care team at Glenwarren Lodge in Victoria who ensured quality care for our mother, including throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, until her end of life.

Messages of remembrance of Brita can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Donations in Brita’s memory can be made to Doctors Without Borders, or The Nature Conservancy of Canada.