Maurice De Baets

Maurice De Baets
November 11, 1930 – December 22, 2020

Peacefully at the Notre-Dame Foyer on Tuesday, December 22, 2020, Maurice De Baets passed away at the age of 90 years. 

He leaves to cherish his memory his beloved wife of 63 years, Laurette (née Buydens), his children, Jo-Ann Labossiere (Mitch Cloutier), Bryan (Shannon) De Baets, Lori (Ken) Macfarlane and Patti De Baets; his grandchildren,  Kristen (Dave), Nikki (Andre), Jesse, Justin (Jessica), Brett (Olivia) and Vanessa; his great-grandchildren, Hailey, Jagger, Rocky, Ray, Gavin and Stella. He also leaves to mourn his siblings and in-laws, Annie De Baets, Annie Zeghers, Mariette Buydens and Sharon (Richard) Deveson; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. 

He is predeceased by his parents Jules and Prudence De Baets; his siblings and inlaws, Mary (John) Dyck, Alida Van Den Bussche, Urselin Dousselaere, Raymond Van Den Bussche, Adolph De Baets, Marcel De Baets, Gerard De Baets, Marcel Zeghers, Marjorie Claeys and Lawrence Buydens.

Maurice was born and raised on the family farm and lived there up until the summer of 1989.  He married the love of his life, Laurette Buydens on November 6th, 1957 and they had 4 children together, which has grown to include 6 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.  He was a true farmer at heart and loved what he did.  In addition to running the dairy and grain, he also drove the school bus for a number of years.  He obviously made a lasting impression on many of the kids that he drove, as shown by the tributes we are receiving.  Maurice also spent many years doing custom grain cleaning for farmers near and far, as well as custom baling and combining for some of his neighbors.

Maurice and Laurette retired in 1989 and moved to Holland, but that didn’t stop him from going to the farm and helping out on a daily basis.  During his retirement years, he worked for Norbert’s Manufacturing, hauling cattle trailers out to Alberta.  He also drove the snow groomer for the local snowmobile club, which covered the area from Cypress River all the way to Treherne.  He loved to go on road trips with friends and has gone everywhere from Alaska to Florida, as well as a couple trips with family to see the beautiful mountains in Alberta.  Maurice and Laurette enjoyed driving all over Manitoba and parts of Saskatchewan, taking pictures of elevators and churches, as well as old houses and barns.

Farm machinery was definitely his passion.  In his spare time, Maurice got into restoring old tractors and enjoyed driving them in the many parades held in nearby towns, as well as the Austin Threshermen’s Reunion.  Over the years, he has collected many toy tractors and dedicated a room in his house in Holland to showcase them.  Anybody who stopped by was given the tour of his toy tractor room, he was so proud of them.  

Besides his family and farming, Maurice also loved to visit.  There was no such thing as a stranger to him, he would talk to everyone he encountered and they all left as friends.  Sadly in December of 2006, Maurice suffered a stroke which robbed him of his ability to communicate.  It hit everyone around him hard, as we were no longer able to hear his words of wisdom, his stories from the past, his silly songs he would sing and his funny imitations of people.  I think we all felt that we lost the best part of him.  But he still had that smile that could light up a room and he continued to enjoy listening to those around him.  

Maurice was always willing to lend a helping hand to neighbours and friends who were in need. He never hesitated to invite you in for a visit and maybe a drink or two.  Maurice has left a lasting impression on us all, and will be dearly missed by his family and friends.  

A Private Funeral Service will be held at Adam’s Funeral Home on Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 10 a.m. with Fr. Vincent Lusty officiating. Interment will take place at the St. Alphonse Parish Cemetery at a later date.

The service will be available to be viewed via Live Streaming. If you would like your name to appear in the guest book, please email your name to office@afh.ca re: Maurice De Baets

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or to the Notre-Dame Foyer.

Adam’s Funeral Home of Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba in care of arrangements.  Phone 204-248-2201.  To view the service and leave condolences, please visit www.afh.ca

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Maurice De Baets, please visit our floral store.