Glenn Stronks went to be with the Lord on February 14, 2025, after fighting cancer at the age of 65. Glenn was born on March 18, 1959, to Derk and Wilma Stronks. He grew up in Burlington, Ontario with his three brothers, Henry, Rick and Ed. Here he met Joanne Kouwenhoven in 1977 in the Young Adults group of New Street Christian Reformed Church.
They married on August 13, 1983, before moving to Thunder Bay, where Glenn was attending university. Glenn and Joanne went on to have two children, Joshua and Amanda. Glenn received a degree in Forestry at Lakehead University, where he also earned his teaching degree. After graduating he taught at the Thunder Bay Christian School for a few years before starting his career at the Ministry of Transportation.
He then went on to work at the Ministry of the Environment for many years before his retirement in 2019. While in Thunder Bay, Glenn and Joanne were part of the Bethlehem Christian Reformed Church family for many years. In 1995 his good friend, Jim Gehrels, had a dream to bring clean drinking water to the people of Liberia in Africa. He asked Glenn to be a part of this project, which later grew into Lifewater Canada and through their efforts helped countless people to have access to clean water. In 2021 Glenn and Jim were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada for their work. Glenn had a great love for God's creation and the great outdoors. It is one of the reasons why he and his wife stayed in Thunder Bay for over 25 years.
He loved to go camping, which he and his family enjoyed together every summer. Throughout the years he has enjoyed catching and identifying butterflies, fishing, stargazing, geocaching and, of course, his most recent all-consuming hobby, birdwatching. In recent years he volunteered with the Couchiching Conservancy and became a steward of the Sweetwater Nature Reserve. He also logged many hours of birdwatching for citizen science projects, and received certification in the Ontario Master Naturalist Program. In 2019 Glenn and Joanne moved to Orillia to be closer to family. They enjoyed their time camping, birdwatching, hiking, visiting family, and exploring the area. They became members of the Living Hope Christian Reformed Church where they met many great friends. Glenn was predeceased by his father Derk Stronks, father-in-law Simon Kouwenhoven, brother-in-law Stephen Kouwenhoven, and sister-in-law Franciska Kouwenhoven. He is survived by his wife Joanne Stronks, son Joshua Stronks and his wife Shannon and their two daughters, Kenzie and Rylee, daughter Amanda Stronks, mother Wilma Stronks, brothers Henry Stronks (Diane), Rick Stronks
(Kelly), and Ed Stronks (Barb), sister-in-law Wendy Lapierre (Philip), and mother-in-law Martha Kouwenhoven, as well as many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank all of the health care workers who cared for Glenn over the past year. Glenn received such great care at the cancer centre at RVH, and from all the staff at Ontario Health at Home. His final days he spent at the Mariposa House Hospice in Orillia where he received excellent care from the all staff. Services will be held at Living Hope Christian Reformed Church (50 Fittons Rd W, Orillia) on Thursday February 20th at 11:00 am. A visitation will be held from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Wednesday, February 19th , 2025 at Simcoe Funeral Home (38 James St E, Orillia). In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Lifewater Canada or the Canadian Cancer Society, both organizations were close to Glenn’s heart.