Obituary of Tol Berend

Berend “Be” Tol

Be was a quiet man, very intelligent and creative.  He was very loyal to his friends and close family.  He loved to spend as much time as possible at our cottage on Johnston Road by the lake, a place we built together.  It was the place he loved the most.

He was a self-taught cabinet maker and enjoyed any challenging projects that people asked of him.  He was certainly a perfectionist.  If I think back, there are not many places in the area that he did not build something for.

We loved to feed the birds and the deer, before it was banned to feed the deer.  He was really good at finding deer sheds.  He loved the wild life.  There was only one bird that he hated with a passion because they were so greedy and never let the small birds eat at the feeder; these were the blue jays which he renamed blue bastards. He built a bird house with wire around where only the smaller birds could eat and a special place for the wood peckers.

As most of you probably knew, Be was a collector of western movies, how he loved to watch all the old shows and movies even the new westerns.

He also possessed a very dry sense of humour, which some people did not always understand.

He lived his life on his terms and I am so glad he will never have to leave his beloved cottage and workshop.  

In his honour, memorial donations can be made to the RVH Foundation or the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

A gathering will take place at Hayes Funeral Home, 134 Centre Street, Shawville, Quebec on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 from 12:30 to 3 p.m.  A light lunch will be served and memories will be shared.