elevated gTpWE December 27, 1930 – June 15, 2023

elevated gTpWE Visitation
Monday June 19, 2023 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm & 6:00 -8:00 pm

elevated gTpWE Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
211 Langstaff Road East, Thornhill, ON, L3T 3Z6

elevated gTpWE Funeral Mass
Tuesday June 20, 2023 at 12:00 pm                               

elevated gTpWE Chapel of St. Joseph- Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home

elevated gTpWE View Funeral Mass

elevated gTpWE Cremation

elevated gTpWE Cremation to be held privately

elevated gTpWE Obituary 

elevated gTpWE Agnes Maria TAALMAN (nee Lambert)

elevated gTpWE December 27, 1930 ~ June 15, 2023

elevated gTpWE Our beloved Mom and Oma has passed away at her home in the Village of Taunton Mills in Whitby, Ontario. Predeceased by her husband Armand, sisters Ria and Annie, and brother Joe, Agnes is survived by her daughter Ellen (Ken) and sons Paul and Stephen (Kelly). Also, by her grandchildren; Jason (Jordaan), Jeffrey (Tiffany), Hannah, Alex, and Kiefer, and great grand-daughter Emilia.

elevated gTpWE Agnes was born in Axel, the Netherlands. As a child she grew up during the depression and experienced the hardships of the War. She was a teenager when Canadian forces liberated the Netherlands from Nazi Germany, and it was perhaps gratitude borne from this experience that motivated her and Armand to immigrate to Canada in 1954.

elevated gTpWE Arriving in Niagara Falls with little more than the clothes they were wearing and a few hundred dollars in their pocket, she and Armand started life in their adopted new country. The challenges were many for them in this new life, not the least of which being limited English.

elevated gTpWE That being the case, moving to Toronto and starting their family with the arrival of baby Ellen in 1955, Agnes and Armand went shopping for a crib at Simpsons. Armed with a Dutch-English dictionary they were confounded by a salesclerk who seemingly couldn’t understand what they were asking for, because every time they asked to see a ‘crib’, he replied instead ‘Do you want a bargain?’

elevated gTpWE They persevered and with hard work and determination they quickly blended into the melting pot that was Canadian society in the 1950s, with the wave of immigration from Europe following WWII.

elevated gTpWE Moving from Toronto in 1960, Agnes and Armand settled in Richmond Hill where they spent 52 years at 435 Oceanside Avenue. It was there that they put down deep roots. Paul and Stephen completed the young Taalman family, and between the home on Oceanside and a cottage on the Trent, Agnes devoted herself to raising her children and instilling in them her values of compassion and virtue.

elevated gTpWE Agnes managed to keep close ties with relatives and acquaintances that had followed a similar path from Europe as her and Armand. They were both deeply involved with the Dutch diaspora community in Toronto, and through that developed many friendships that lasted a lifetime.

elevated gTpWE Through her work at Loblaws, Agnes also made many friends in the community at large in Richmond Hill. Always outgoing and willing to help a friend in need, Agnes was loved by many. She will be dearly missed by family and friends alike. Please join us in celebrating Agnes’ life at Holy Cross Funeral Home, 8361 Yonge Street, Thornhill. Visitation is to take place on Monday June 19, 2023 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm & 6:00 – 8:00 pm.

elevated gTpWE Funeral Mass will be held in the Chapel of St. Joseph at Holy Cross at 12:00 pm on Tuesday June 20, 2023 with a reception to follow.