Obituary for Sietze Willem Praamsma
Sietze Willem Praamsma
April 3, 1936 – April 25, 2023
Died peacefully at home on April 25, 2023, surrounded by his wife and daughters. Born in Zeist, the Netherlands, on April 3, 1936, Sietze leaves his wife of 56 years, Saskia; daughters, Titia (Rod), Monate (Jim), and Wanda (Craig); grandchildren, Helena, Anniek, Niels, Saul, and Teska; and many friends and family in Holland, Canada, and around the world.
Sietze led an adventurous life through travel, music, books, art, and stories. He was a ravenous reader and endlessly curious, with a vast body of knowledge spanning history, politics, current events, pottery, art, electronics, plants, and music. Sietze was a social being who loved a good party and the opportunity to debate and discuss big ideas. He loved music, especially jazz and classical. A great collector of hats, records, gadgets, books, musical instruments, and other random treasures, he found many of them during his routine hunts at The Hub, the second-hand store in Almonte.
Sietze and Saskia left the Netherlands in 1967, moving to Madison, Wisconsin, for Sietze’s studies in geology. Over the past 60 years, his career meandered from tree planting to geology to computer science to pottery to international development to electronics and technical writing, and finally back to pottery. Leaving Wisconsin in 1973, Sietze and Saskia spent several years in Toronto (1973-1977) where he worked as a pottery technician at Sheridan College and was instrumental in starting up Harbourfront Centre’s craft program before heading to Botswana (1977-1980), with Cuso International. They settled in Clayton, Ontario, in 1980, growing their family and their creative lives in their beautiful heritage house, which they spent decades renovating while Sietze also worked in various parts of the growing tech sector in Ottawa. In 2007, Sietze and Saskia spent six months in Kabul, Afghanistan, working with the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, and they routinely travelled to Cuba, where they made friends and started artistic collaborations.
Sietze will be greatly missed and would encourage you to follow your own path, be yourself and do good things.
Special thanks to Dr. Graeme McKillop, the nurses at the Almonte General Hospital, and the Hematology Program at the Ottawa Hospital. Donations are welcome to the Almonte Hospital Foundation and Doctors without Borders.
A visitation will be held at Union Hall at 1984 Wolf Grove Road on April 30, 2023, from 1-5 pm. Please wear your favourite hat, if desired.
April 3, 1936 – April 25, 2023
Died peacefully at home on April 25, 2023, surrounded by his wife and daughters. Born in Zeist, the Netherlands, on April 3, 1936, Sietze leaves his wife of 56 years, Saskia; daughters, Titia (Rod), Monate (Jim), and Wanda (Craig); grandchildren, Helena, Anniek, Niels, Saul, and Teska; and many friends and family in Holland, Canada, and around the world.
Sietze led an adventurous life through travel, music, books, art, and stories. He was a ravenous reader and endlessly curious, with a vast body of knowledge spanning history, politics, current events, pottery, art, electronics, plants, and music. Sietze was a social being who loved a good party and the opportunity to debate and discuss big ideas. He loved music, especially jazz and classical. A great collector of hats, records, gadgets, books, musical instruments, and other random treasures, he found many of them during his routine hunts at The Hub, the second-hand store in Almonte.
Sietze and Saskia left the Netherlands in 1967, moving to Madison, Wisconsin, for Sietze’s studies in geology. Over the past 60 years, his career meandered from tree planting to geology to computer science to pottery to international development to electronics and technical writing, and finally back to pottery. Leaving Wisconsin in 1973, Sietze and Saskia spent several years in Toronto (1973-1977) where he worked as a pottery technician at Sheridan College and was instrumental in starting up Harbourfront Centre’s craft program before heading to Botswana (1977-1980), with Cuso International. They settled in Clayton, Ontario, in 1980, growing their family and their creative lives in their beautiful heritage house, which they spent decades renovating while Sietze also worked in various parts of the growing tech sector in Ottawa. In 2007, Sietze and Saskia spent six months in Kabul, Afghanistan, working with the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, and they routinely travelled to Cuba, where they made friends and started artistic collaborations.
Sietze will be greatly missed and would encourage you to follow your own path, be yourself and do good things.
Special thanks to Dr. Graeme McKillop, the nurses at the Almonte General Hospital, and the Hematology Program at the Ottawa Hospital. Donations are welcome to the Almonte Hospital Foundation and Doctors without Borders.
A visitation will be held at Union Hall at 1984 Wolf Grove Road on April 30, 2023, from 1-5 pm. Please wear your favourite hat, if desired.