Ekke Kok
May 7th, 2017
KOK, Ekke
28 August 1928 – 07 May 2017
Ekke Kok passed away in his sleep the morning of Sunday, May 7, at the age of 88. He had been camping with his wife, Magda, at Banff’s Tunnel Mountain. Ekke was born in Eindhoven in the Netherlands and later moved to Nijmegen, where the city was liberated when he was 16 years old. He joined the Canadian army, liberating other cities and towns.
After the war, he worked on various merchant ships, travelling the world. In 1960, he married Magdalena Van Lin and had two sons, Ekke in 1961 and Onno in 1965. In 1969, the young family immigrated to Canada, where Ekke’s career flourished in institutional cooking as an executive chef in Alberta health services and correctional facilities in Peace River, Ponoka, Red Deer, Calgary and eventually Regina, where he retired in 1990.
Ekke was involved in many facets of the motorcycle community, including the Calgary Safety Council where he rose to the level of Chief Instructor for motorcycle safety training. Ekke was active in the BMW motorcycle clubs in Regina and Calgary as well as the Blue Knights motorcycle clubs in Regina and Alberta. He was a co-founder of the Blue Knights Calgary chapter.
Ekke will be lovingly remembered by his wife, Magda; sons, Ekke (Audrey) and Onno (Chieko); brothers, Piet and Alle; and sister, Rini. He was predeceased by his brothers, Jan, Ronald and Eric.
A Memorial Service was held at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Airdrie, AB on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 and was attended by many BMW motorcycle club and Blue Knights motorcycle club members. He received a full Calgary Police Service escort and a Blue Knights honour guard.
Messages:
So sorry for your loss. Ekke was such a lovely person. He will be missed.
Our sympathies to you Magda. What a great man!!! He was like a grandpa that was genuine. take care. he will be missed
Lieve dierbare vrienden, vanaf het eerste bericht ben ik in gedachten bij jullie. Mijn, voor mij ome Ekke, is niet meer aanwezig hier op aarde. Hij kijkt naar ons vanaf wolk 7. Zijn herinnering zal voort leven in ons allemaal. Kus en liefs van mij en mijn familie hier in Nederland
Beste Magda, Ekke(jr), Audry, Onno, Chieko en andere familie, Vanuit hier heel veel sterkte met het verlies, we zullen hem gedenken als een goede vriend en terugdenken aan de vele gesprekken via de radio (en later Skype), maar ook van de keren dat hij ons bezocht heeft. De kinderen Elroy en Nikita hebben goede herinneringen hieraan, hij vergat ook niet om ze te benoemen in onze gesprekken. Helaas niet eerder geweten van het overlijden van Ekke, dus de redenen van deze late condeleance. Nogmaals veel sterkte gewenst van Dirk en de kinderen.