Dirk Leegwater

[Stefan Leegwater]

Dear all,

With sadness I have to inform you that my beloved father, Dirk Leegwater 16-12-1944, passed away last wednesday at an age of 75.
I will remember him as a good father, best friend and my example.
He lost his battle to his dementia, he will be greatly missed.

His service is monday feb 3 at 14.00 in Broek op Langedijk
adress: Dorpstraat 128.
Condolonces to the family are also possible on saturday feb 1 between 15.00 - 16.00 and 19.00 - 20.00 at Dr. Manjoeroplantsoen 16 in Broek op Langedijk.

Stefan Leegwater

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Dear Stefan,

My condolences. A great loss to your family and friends. His battle is over, may he Rest In Peace.

Dirk was a great man who was a leading figure in our hobby for many decades. I will propagate his mantra regarding the Canadian Army Overseas: “our true liberators”.



Sincerely,
Hanno

[Owen Evans]

Dear Stefan,

So sorry to hear this terrible news, Dirk will be greatly missed.

Our condolences to you and your family at this sad time.



Sincere Regards,
Owen.

[tankbarrell]

Stefan,

very sorry to hear your sad news as I too lost my father at 75 and it is far too young.

I remember with fondness the hospitality you both showed when I visited many years ago.

Regards,

Adrian Barrell

[Marc van Aalderen]

Dear Stefan and family,

My sincere condolences on the loss of your father.

I'm sure he will be missed by many vehicle collectors and friends all over the world.

He always was good natured and made you feel very welcome visiting at the yard.

All the best!

Dirk, I salute you!

[Pete Ashby]

Very sorry to hear the sad news Stefan condolences to you and your family.

Dirk will be sadly missed, he championed CMP collecting in the days when they were regarded as being not as desirable as their US counter parts.

He played no small part in changing that situation by providing an unparalleled spare parts service of largely NoS parts for collectors and restorers world wide.

Sincerely
Pete

[Jordan Baker]

Stefan and Astrid, my sincere condolences to you and the rest of your family.

[Brian Gough]

Stefan, we are so sorry to learn of Dirk's passing.

It was a long hard struggle for him and we hope you find comfort he is no longer suffering. Please pass on our sincere condolences to Astrid, Sjoertje, Mariska, Patricia and the whole LWD family.

This is a sad time but do reflect on all the good memories you have . As Hanno has best said, Dirk was "a leading figure in our hobby for many decades." The fact he was such a lover of things Canadian, especially CMP vehicles has helped everyone of us here. Dirk was truly one of the original CMP guys, as a collector, restorer and as a dealer.

For Barry Churcher and me this began in Normandy in 1994 when we were introduced by Ruud Francissen. Dirk was waiting in his HUP for the KTR parade to start. This was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Pont Audemer (Aug 26, 1944) by the Princes Irene Brigade.

From that initial meeting our long time friendship began. We have so many great memories over the years, from visiting Broek op Langedijk, working on the beach, attending Liberation and D Day events in Holland and Normandy, staying in the LWD tent at the War & Peace show and his annual fall 'buying' trips to Castleton. Dirk had a real knack for searching out and finding interesting things right here in our Ontario backyard with repeat visits to among others, Brian Asbury, Bob Phillips and the Elliot Brothers in Newtonville. Our side trips to Fall Hershey will long be remembered. Back at Barry's Castleton Staging Yard, nobody could stuff a container like Dirk (and you and Albert).

I know Dirk liked to be thought of a doer - not a "paper guy" and his restorations showed that. But he sure had the largest and best collection of CMP and other military vehicle books and manuals I know of. We have many great memories of wonderful hours spent around the big table in the LWD library reading the books and drinking coffee or Amstel. I will always be grateful to Dirk for the two occasions we got to meet and spend time talking with and learning from Bart Vanderveen.

He will be missed. Dirk, rest in peace.

Brian

[lssah2025]

Sorry to hear that Stefan, your father helped a lot of us keep vehicles on the road and also pats to restore vehicles over the years, he will be sorely missed..

[Danny Bosma]

Stefan and family,

My sincere condolences on the loss of your father.

He will be remembered by many.

With regards,

Danny

[Harry Moon]

Stefan and Family
We want you to know you have our deepest sympathy for the loss you have suffered. Our prayers are with you.

Harry and Claire Moon

[jeepjes]

Dear Stefan and family Leegwater,

My condolences on the loss of your father.
We will miss him a lot, he was great man !

Sincere Regards,
Egbert Ausems

[Peter Duggan]

Stefan,

My sincere condolences, to you and your loved ones. While I never had the opportunity to meet Dirk, he certainly had a significant impact on myself and many more.

If it is any solace, his memory will live on with myself and so many more in our community.

Peter

[Howard]

Stefan,
I am sorry for your loss. A loss for your family, and the MLU/CMP community.
Most of us here have never got to meet Dirk, however, most of us throughout the world know his name and I feel that he will be long regarded as a leader and reference point within this hobby for many years to come.
May he rest in peace.
The Holgate Family.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Stefan, Astrid,

My condolences for the loss of Dad and all the best for the difficult times ahead.
I hope Dirk did get to see the HUP finished in the Jewish brigade markings.

I have many happy memories of Dirk....he was the one that finally convinced me to enter the historic MV world and I still remember well when Stefan and Dirk delivered the C8 to my house.

What I will remember most is his passion for Canadian vehicles and his constant "battle" to educate the general and MV public about the true liberators of our country.

Alex

[lynx42]

Stefan,

My sincere condolences, to you and to Astrid, Sjoertje, Mariska, Patricia and the whole LWD family.

I first met Dirk on the 18th June 2009. He came straight home mid morning from beach cleaning to meet Jill and I and we spent he next 2.5 hours talking all things military. I came away with a number of NOS parts for my Canadian Ford Lynx Scout Car.

Keep smiling Stephan and family, our thoughts are with you, memories are good.

Rick and Jill.

[maple_leaf_eh]

My deepest sympathies as the others have already expressed. While i did not have dealings with the clan, I certainly know the family name.

My father passed away in August of last year after living with dementia. It was that illness that got him, but something else. Ever on our minds, I spoke to his 20-yr companion today on other matters and she is still feeling the effects.

[Rob McCue]

My condolences to you and your family.

[chris vickery]

Condolences from our family to yours. Its never easy especially when there's such a father and son bond. My own father was an inspiration to my love and restoration of historic MVs.

[Big D]

Hi Stefan,

My condolences. I met your dad on a visit there in 2014 and he was good enough to take a couple of hours out of his day showing me his collection and giving me a tour through the warehouses. He was an interesting man and I would have liked to have spent more time with him.

All the best to you and your family.

[Maurice Donckers]

Stefan and Family ,
our condolences to you all , we have great memory`s of your father ,

Maurice & Sanda

[Robin Craig]

Stefan and Family

My condolences to you and your family

[Bert den Brok]

Dear Stefan and family Leegwater,

My condolences for the loss of your father.
My memories go back to the '80s.
I've met him regularly since then.
He was a respectable man. We'll miss him very much.

Sincere greetings,
Bert den Brok

[Les Fisher]

Today is Dirk’s funeral service perhaps even now as I writes this. Dirk was an easy friend! Even though I did not see him often we just took up our friendship like the last time we saw each other was only last week. When actually it may have been 3 or 4 years. I met Dirk somewhere in the mid 1990s when Barry Churcher and Brian Gough brought him to visit me while Dirk was in Canada on a holiday. That was the start of what became many years of friendship. One time we traveled together to Pennsylvania to one of the biggest car shows in the USA. We stopped off at a gun store in PA where we rented hand guns by the 1/2 hour. It seemed very unusual until we discovered they had a three bay gun range. Equally unusual was a pet deer named Daisy that would wonder through the store. After Dirk shot a handgun for the first time we closing out the visit by feeding Daisy then back on our way to the car show. Dirk had a lot of fun buying every military looking old horn he could find. He filled the back of the van with horns and other goodies that he was so happy to buy.
That and many other fond memories will be with me always .
The hobby has lost one of our strongest supporters. Dirk was a member of the OMVA for a very long time!
On behalf of the OMVA, my condolences to Stefan and his family for their loss.
I would also like to wish Barry and Brian a safe trip back to Canada after the service. What a testimony to your friendship to be able to attend!

[Frank Spiering]

Dear Stefan,

My condolances to you and your family, and strength in these hard times...

Frank

[Bob Carriere]

My most sincere condolences on the passing of your father.

I have fond memories of the times I met Dirk, such a gentlemen.

He has contributed so very much to our hobby and will be sadly missed by all of us.

Glad that you have picked up the flag and are carrying on the business.

Bob C.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Last Monday Dirk was brought to his last resting place. The church was packed with family, friends and people from the local community. Barry & Brian, Dirk’s best friends from Canada came over to pay their last respects. A sizeable representation of Keep Them Rolling was present as well.

Alex and I brought funeral flowers on behalf of the friends and members of Maple Leaf Up Forum.

After the service Dirk went on his last ride in Stefan's recently restored C8A HUP. Stefan drove the HUP to Dirk's last resting place at the local church.

As a memory of happier times, I am sharing the picture which was made in June 2004 at Arromaches beach, Normandy, France. I think it is symbolic for Dirk as it combines his work and hobby in one. Dirk spent a large part of his working life cleaning the beaches of North Holland. His hobby was all centered around Canadian military vehicles and the friends he made though this hobby. He and Stefan had recently restored the C15TA and it was on it's first outing abroad. Years later Barry Churcher traded a number of project vehicles against Dirk's C15TA, so his truck now lives in Canada where he loved to be.

From left to right: Hanno Spoelstra, Shawn Winnington-Ball, Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP), Dirk Leegwater (RIP), Brian Gough, Barry Churcher, Stefan Leegwater.

[jaap de wit]

Dear Stefan and family,

My sincere condolences on the loss of your father.

I'm sure he will be missed by many vehicle collectors and friends.

He always was good natured and made you feel very welcome visiting at the yard.

thanks to him i could restore my chevy c15 cab11 with wirelessbody.

jaap de wit

[Bob Phillips]

Welcome visitors!

[Hanno Spoelstra]

That's a very nice picture Bob, thanks for posting it here.