Obituary of Henry Van Den Bosch

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the sudden passing of Henry Van Den Bosch. Henry was born October 12, 1945, on the family farm in Swan Lake, Manitoba and passed away at his residence in Saint-Jean-Baptise on August 10th. He leaves to morn his wife of 58 years, Juliette, née Labossière, his children Richard (Patrick O’Reilly), Debbie (Denis Ritchot), Jacqueline (Alan Neumann) and Marlene (Tony Boutet). His grandchildren Olivia (Luke Kozar), Nicholas, Mikayla, Keison, Céleste (Rhys Pfeifer), Talia and his great-grandchildren Owen & Aspen. Henry was predeceased by his parents, Francis & Alphonsine (née Haegeman), his brothers Edouard (Jeanne), Joseph (Helen), Camille, Gaston, his sister Marie Van de Kerchove and in laws René & Emma Labossière, Emile Goderis, Marielle Labossière, Lina Boily, Marc Labossière, Paul Conrad, and Gerard Labossière. He is survived by his brothers Arthur (Rose-Marie), Bernard(Margie) and sisters Louise Goderis and Rosa Conrad, his in laws Oscar Van de Kerchove, Martial Labossière, Lucille Van Den Bosch, Donna Van Den Bosch, Fred Labossière (Grace), Anita Labossière, Jules Labossière (Carole), and Clémence Labossière. Henry grew up in Swan Lake, Manitoba, on the family farm. In the mid 60’s, he met his love, Juliette, who he married in 1966and they had 4 children. They moved to St. Jean Baptiste in the fall of 1970 where they lived their entire life. Dad, being a young farm boy, understood the need to work hard at an early age. He started his work career with his older brother Edouard in construction. As a young married couple, they purchased the restaurant in Swan Lake, which they managed for a few years. Dad’s career path then took him to Viscount in Morris, where they choose to settle in St. Jean-Baptiste. Other jobs that were part of dad’s path included welder/builder/supervisor at Sheller Globe, and then Superior Bus. He also worked in the fiberglass business, at St. Jean Enterprise with Paul Fillion. Dad returned to his passion and took a leap by starting his own construction business, VDB Enterprise Ltd. In his later years, he included building toys and participated in craft shows. In 2016, dad officially closed shop and retired. Henry was a proud member of the Knights of Columbus, various municipality committees and Parks & Recreation. His limited leisure time allowed him to be part of the Brewer’s ball team, St. Jean Jets Broomball, the occasional curling and of course some Belgium Bowling. Petze also enjoyed attending his children and grand children’s sport activities and playing cards with anyone who was willing. Henry, Dad, Voeder, Petze, you are missed and will never be forgotten. We Love You! May you rest in peace! A catholic service will be held at Paroisse Saint-Jean-Baptiste on Friday, August 23th officiated by L’abbé Alain Guenou and Henry’s nephew, Father Joshua Gundrum.  Prayers will start at 1pm followed by the service at 1:30pm.  A private interment will take place at a later date in Swan Lake, Manitoba.  In lieu of flowers, family and friends are asked to donate to Addictions Foundations of Manitoba (Mental Health and Addictions services) in Henry’s name.