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PETER SYE DYKSTRA
PETER DYKSTRA Obituary
September 25, 1938 - November 7, 2025
Peter Dykstra had a long, interesting life. It ended suddenly, but thankfully he was spared the endless indignities of old age. Dad sailed off into the sunset, holding hands with his beloved, surrounded by people who loved and admired him.
We should all be so lucky.
Our father had setbacks. Besides being an immigrant and arriving in Canada with nothing, he lost his company to ruthless business partners, had failed marriages, acquired wealth, and faced bankruptcy - but through it all, he persevered.
Dad was born in the Netherlands on September 25, 1938, on the eve of World War II. After suffering through the war in German occupied Holland, Peter and his family immigrated to Canada in 1951 and settled in Clarkson, Ontario.
Dad learned English by reading Dick and Jane children's books at the back of his grade 7 class. He was smart and curious, though, so he was soon studying math and physics at the University of Toronto.
While at school, he met and married Gail Ireland, a vivacious schoolteacher, in 1961. When their first child Colin arrived unexpectedly in 1962, Dad had to quit school and get a job. He walked into IBM, where they hired him on the spot.
After a few years at IBM, dad started his own computer company, Comtech. During this period, two more children, Monique and Pamela, were born.
When his business partners at Comtech used obscure contract law to force him out of the company, dad decided to become a lawyer to stop the same thing from happening to others. He went back to university to finish his Bachelor of Arts, earned a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, and was called to the bar in 1975.
By his mid-40s, Peter was a successful lawyer in Wiarton, Ontario, living in a mansion with sailboats, campers, and sports cars in the driveway.
Then everything fell apart.
His marriage was in ruins, his children had grown up and left, and there he was, watching people pick through his belongings at a bankruptcy sale on his front lawn.
It was the worst moment of this life.
Dad was a lawyer. His job was to give people advice. He had taken a risk and lost everything - a risk he probably would have warned his clients against.
His law firm was so successful that he had opened several satellite offices across southwestern Ontario. It worked for a while, then it didn't. It was the '80s. Interest rates topped 20%. Overleveraged, he lost everything.
Deeply embarrassed, he wrote to each of his clients, explained the situation, and said he was opening a new law office in Owen Sound. If they still wanted him as their lawyer, he would be grateful; if not, he would understand.
Only two of dad's thousands of clients left him. Our dad was an honest, ethical, hard-working man. His clients knew this. Their faith in him restored his faith in himself.
In Owen Sound, Peter rebuilt his life from scratch. His new law firm grew and expanded, he remarried and he bought another mansion. Peter retired in his 50s, then eventually parted ways with his second wife.
At this point, Dad decided to get a third university degree. In 2001, he moved to Ottawa to study the classics at Carleton University.
Above all, our father was a thinker. Growing up, our home was stacked from floor to ceiling with books. He read and read and read. Then, as a full-time university student in his 60s, he steamed through the Bible, Homer, the Koran, Plato, the Bhagavad Gita, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, Dante and more.
In the middle of all this, he fell in love with a smart, athletic woman named Lesley Betts, a retired teacher and librarian.
Dad was instantly smitten. He finished his Bachelor of Humanities with highest honours and received the Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement. The couple moved in together. This was one of the happiest periods of dad's life. He didn't feel the need to build empires or slay dragons anymore. He was finally free to enjoy life.
Dad and Lesley had a wonderful life together for 25 years. Dad loved Lesley, but most of all, he adored her. It seemed as if he couldn't believe his luck at finding her.
What the people closest to him will miss the most is Peter's cheerful nature and his insatiable curiosity about the world. The depth of his knowledge was deep and vast, and his passion for learning was at the heart of who he was.
Peter Dykstra passed away in Ottawa on November 7, 2025, at the age of 87, following complications from hip surgery. He will be deeply missed by his partner, Lesley; his children, Colin, Monique, and Pamela; and his grandchildren, Sam, Leo, and Kai.
Peter was predeceased by his parents, John and Katy Dykstra; and his brother, Harold Dykstra.
A memorial will be held in the spring of 2026 for family and friends.
Peter Dykstra had a long, interesting life. It ended suddenly, but thankfully he was spared the endless indignities of old age. Dad sailed off into the sunset, holding hands with his beloved, surrounded by people who loved and admired him.
We should all be so lucky.
Our father had setbacks. Besides being an immigrant and arriving in Canada with nothing, he lost his company to ruthless business partners, had failed marriages, acquired wealth, and faced bankruptcy - but through it all, he persevered.
Dad was born in the Netherlands on September 25, 1938, on the eve of World War II. After suffering through the war in German occupied Holland, Peter and his family immigrated to Canada in 1951 and settled in Clarkson, Ontario.
Dad learned English by reading Dick and Jane children's books at the back of his grade 7 class. He was smart and curious, though, so he was soon studying math and physics at the University of Toronto.
While at school, he met and married Gail Ireland, a vivacious schoolteacher, in 1961. When their first child Colin arrived unexpectedly in 1962, Dad had to quit school and get a job. He walked into IBM, where they hired him on the spot.
After a few years at IBM, dad started his own computer company, Comtech. During this period, two more children, Monique and Pamela, were born.
When his business partners at Comtech used obscure contract law to force him out of the company, dad decided to become a lawyer to stop the same thing from happening to others. He went back to university to finish his Bachelor of Arts, earned a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, and was called to the bar in 1975.
By his mid-40s, Peter was a successful lawyer in Wiarton, Ontario, living in a mansion with sailboats, campers, and sports cars in the driveway.
Then everything fell apart.
His marriage was in ruins, his children had grown up and left, and there he was, watching people pick through his belongings at a bankruptcy sale on his front lawn.
It was the worst moment of this life.
Dad was a lawyer. His job was to give people advice. He had taken a risk and lost everything - a risk he probably would have warned his clients against.
His law firm was so successful that he had opened several satellite offices across southwestern Ontario. It worked for a while, then it didn't. It was the '80s. Interest rates topped 20%. Overleveraged, he lost everything.
Deeply embarrassed, he wrote to each of his clients, explained the situation, and said he was opening a new law office in Owen Sound. If they still wanted him as their lawyer, he would be grateful; if not, he would understand.
Only two of dad's thousands of clients left him. Our dad was an honest, ethical, hard-working man. His clients knew this. Their faith in him restored his faith in himself.
In Owen Sound, Peter rebuilt his life from scratch. His new law firm grew and expanded, he remarried and he bought another mansion. Peter retired in his 50s, then eventually parted ways with his second wife.
At this point, Dad decided to get a third university degree. In 2001, he moved to Ottawa to study the classics at Carleton University.
Above all, our father was a thinker. Growing up, our home was stacked from floor to ceiling with books. He read and read and read. Then, as a full-time university student in his 60s, he steamed through the Bible, Homer, the Koran, Plato, the Bhagavad Gita, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, Dante and more.
In the middle of all this, he fell in love with a smart, athletic woman named Lesley Betts, a retired teacher and librarian.
Dad was instantly smitten. He finished his Bachelor of Humanities with highest honours and received the Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement. The couple moved in together. This was one of the happiest periods of dad's life. He didn't feel the need to build empires or slay dragons anymore. He was finally free to enjoy life.
Dad and Lesley had a wonderful life together for 25 years. Dad loved Lesley, but most of all, he adored her. It seemed as if he couldn't believe his luck at finding her.
What the people closest to him will miss the most is Peter's cheerful nature and his insatiable curiosity about the world. The depth of his knowledge was deep and vast, and his passion for learning was at the heart of who he was.
Peter Dykstra passed away in Ottawa on November 7, 2025, at the age of 87, following complications from hip surgery. He will be deeply missed by his partner, Lesley; his children, Colin, Monique, and Pamela; and his grandchildren, Sam, Leo, and Kai.
Peter was predeceased by his parents, John and Katy Dykstra; and his brother, Harold Dykstra.
A memorial will be held in the spring of 2026 for family and friends.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Published by The Globe and Mail from Nov. 15 to Nov. 19, 2025.
Memories and Condolences
for PETER DYKSTRA
1 Entry
Jane Andrews
November 15, 2025
I met Peter just 2 years ago. In a Current Events Discussion Group at the Kanata Seniors Center. He was a key contributor. EVERYONE listened keenly whenever he spoke up. Such depth and breadth of knowledge. So well expressed. I learned a lot.
And then there was Bridge. A recent interest of mine. He taught me a lot there too. A bright, kind and generous person, he was to me.
Jane Andrews
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