Obituaries

Willem Berthus Clemens de Lint was born in Ginneken (now part of Breda), Noord Brabant, Netherlands on January 10, 1933. He was only 6 years old when the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands began and had to grow up fast as his family did everything that they could to aid the allies, including welcoming 67 Canadian soldiers to share their family home over Christmas and New Year’s in 1944.

Partly spurred on by the devastation the 1953 North Sea Flood had on the Netherlands and partly by the spirit of adventure, Willem decided to immigrate to Canada the following year. To earn money for university, he worked as a surveyor in Lethbridge and Wood Buffalo National Park, work he would often site as grueling but was perhaps instrumental in forging the work ethic he displayed his entire life. He studied at the University of Toronto before graduating with honours from the University of Manitoba School of Architecture in 1962 with top marks for a thesis exploring the development of a sub-arctic community (also, according to his yearbook, his activities included “thunderbragging, sackdragging, and hopscotch”).

In addition to an education, Willem also found love at the University of Manitoba. His future bride, Sharon Downey, was enrolled in Interior Design there, which facilitated their paths crossing. They were married at the Lakeview United Church in Regina, SK on September 2, 1961.

After graduation, they moved to Prince Albert, SK where Willem practiced architecture. It was in Prince Albert that they welcomed their first son, Dirck, on November 30, 1966. In 1967, the family moved to Regina where he formed his own firm, de Lint Architects Ltd. In Regina, Willem and Sharon had two more sons: Michael on October 5, 1969, who tragically passed away two months later; and Gavin on May 20,1971.

Willem’s career as an architect was distinguished and well respected. In addition to his solo firm, he formed two successful partnerships: de Lint + Taylor Architects Inc. (with Hugh David Taylor) and de Lint & Edwards Architects, A Partnership (with David Edwards). Some of his more notable works were the MacKenzie Art Gallery (Competition Winner, December 1986), the Moose Jaw Art Gallery and Library (Saskatchewan Masonry Institute Award of Merit winner, 1997), the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre (Regina), the Victoria Union Hospital (Prince Albert), Plains Health Centre (now Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Regina Campus), Trianon Tower (Saskatchewan Masonry Institute Award of Excellence, 1989, Regina), the rejuvenation of the old SaskTel Building into the new home for the Department of Finance (Regina), the retrofitting of Milton Heights (Regina) and the designing of Roberts Plaza (Regina), a building he would eventually call home for most of his retirement. He was a life member of Construction Specifications Canada (CSC), a life member and president (1996-1997) of the Saskatchewan Association of Architects (SAA), and a fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC).

His professional life was very full, but he still found time to be a very active member of his community. He served as the President of the Regina Chamber of Commerce in 1979, as a Director of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, the Regina Visitors & Convention Bureau and the Regina Business Improvement District and as a Board Member of the Regina Wheatland Theatre.

In 1989, he was appointed as the Honorary Consul of the Netherlands for Saskatchewan, a role in which he took great pride. However, the way in which he gave back most to the community and was most gratified by was his involvement in the Boy Scouts of Canada. In addition to serving as a Leader for St. Luke’s Troop 21, he was also involved at the regional and provincial level, and he helped organize the first Boy Scout/Girl Guide Food Bank Drive in Saskatchewan. It was for this, as well as for a documentary he shot with a group of scouts on the pictographs along the Churchill and for his many works in the community, that he was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1995 (Awarded May 4, Invested Nov. 16). He was also the recipient of the Saskatchewan Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee (2012) and Platinum Jubilee (2022) Medals.

The facts listed above, however, cannot in any way convey the man that he was. He was kind, authentic and generous with a wickedly mischievous sense of humour. He possessed an unforgettable charisma. He was a role model, a raconteur and a lovable curmudgeon. He was wonderful husband, father, grandfather, sibling, uncle and friend.

He was predeceased by his parents Jan and Mieke, his brothers Al and Jan, his sisters Olga and Henny, and his son Michael.

He is missed and survived by his wife Sharon; children Dirck (Lana) and Gavin (Tara); grandchildren Jack and Finn; and siblings Elsa, Carla, Frank and Robert.

He peacefully passed away in his sleep on May 1, 2025.

A Celebration of Life will take place in the Agra Torchinsky Salon of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, 3475 Albert Street, Regina, SK at 1:00 p.m. (service begins at 1:30 p.m.) on Sunday, July 6, 2025.

In lieu of flowers, please considering donating to Indspire, the Regina Food Bank or Scouts Canada