Patrick Serné passed away on March 19, 2024, in Penticton, BC, after a long, valiant struggle with Alzheimer's Disease.
He was born December 4, 1937, on the eve of World War II, the third son of Bernardus and Machteld Serné (née Crommelin) in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The war had a profound effect on his formative years.
Patrick was a loyal, industrious, creative, intelligent, talented individual, with a special sense of humour. He was fluently multilingual and extremely handy. He served in the Royal Dutch Army's Transportation Division for 21 months prior to emigrating to Canada, reaching the rank of Sergeant in that brief time. After 5 1/2 years in northern Quebec working as a communications technician on the North Shore and Iron Ore Railway he relocated to the West Coast.
In his later career, Patrick was an Export Sales Manager at Microtel Ltd. (formerly Lenkurt Electric) managing the sales territory of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Outside of work, he enjoyed woodworking, gardening, wine making, cooking - especially grilling, jewelry design and repair, antique restoration - particularly clocks, travel, photography, and his beloved dachshunds.
Patrick is survived by the love of his life, wife, Margaret Serné, son, Kenneth Serné, daughter-in-law, Wendy Serné, grandson, Mackenzie Serné, sister, Sigrid Boersma, sisters-in-law, Louisa Serné and Froukje Serné, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his father, Bernardus Serné, mother, Machteld van Woerden, and brothers Bernard Serné, Walter Serné, and half-brother Hugo Jan van Woerden.
There will be no service held. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that contributions be made to the Alzheimer's Society of British Columbia.
Special thanks to the caring staff at The Hamlets at Penticton and long-time friend and physician, Dr. J. Kooy.