René François D’Hollander

René François D’Hollander passed peacefully on May 21, 2019 in Victoria, BC. He was born February 24, 1936 in Etterbeek, Belgium.

René is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Ruth; their two sons, Raymond (Shirley) and Roger (Karen); and grandchildren, Lauren, Mark, Rachel, Robyn, Natalie, and Kelsey.

René grew up in Etterbeek (Brussels), Belgium, experiencing the Nazi occupation during World War II. Shortly after the war, an emaciated René was sent by the Red Cross to Roskilde, Denmark to be “fattened up”. This experience was to have an enormous influence in René’s life including a love of travel. During his teen years, he visited many places in Europe by bicycle, including returning to Denmark to visit the family who cared for him there.

René did his early education in both Flemish and French. For higher education, he joined the Belgian military in the Royal Military Academy 94th Promotion in 1954. In 1955, he was selected to do naval officer training with the Royal Canadian Navy in the HMCS Venture Class of 1957.  On completion of his naval officer training in 1959, he was an officer on board the former minesweeper HMCS WALLACEBURG, renamed LECOINTE when it was transferred to the Belgian Navy. In 1960, on board LECOINTE, he participated in rescuing Belgian nationals caught in the riots associated with the independence of the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo). René then served on minesweepers based in Ostend, Belgium until he left the Navy in 1963.

René and Ruth met in Victoria and were married in North Vancouver in 1958. Their son, Raymond, was born in Victoria in 1959 and their second son, Roger, was born in Ostend in 1961.

After leaving the Belgian Navy and moving to North Vancouver, BC, René worked in computers and management information systems in Vancouver and Montreal. In the years before formal computer science courses were offered in colleges and universities, Rene began this stage of his working life by programming at BC Forest Products and BC Packers. He then took on system development and management at Canada Cement Lafarge (now Lafarge Canada), first in Vancouver, then at its corporate office in Montreal. In 1982-83, he earned his Master of Management Science as a Sloan Fellow at the Sloan School of Management at MIT in Boston. Subsequently, he returned to Vancouver to develop and manage the information systems at Loomis Courier Service. His development of the Loomis system and waybill was ground-breaking for the courier industry. In the early 90’s, he started his own firm, CONEXSYS,  pioneering an integrated system for bar-code based management, registration and lead retrieval for conventions, exhibitions, trade and public shows.

René and Ruth retired to Victoria, completing the circle of moves in their loving relationship. During retirement, he was passionate about his role in reconciliation with First Nations and was a member of Aboriginal Neighbours. He especially enjoyed his volunteer work in helping children learn French at Ecole Macaulay Elementary School and the Saute Mouton pre-school.

René loved and was proud of his family and was a friend to many. His warmth, unique sense of humour and genuine kind heart will live on in the hearts of many.

A Private Celebration of René’s Life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations will be gratefully received by the Victoria Hospitals Foundation www.victoriahf.ca.

Condolences may be offered to the family below.

McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com

Obituary for Rene Francois D’Hollander of Victoria, BC.