This Winnipeg park is named in commemoration of Albert “Al” de Groot (1922-1962) and his brother Arthur “Art” de Groot (1924-1996). Both were born to John de Groot (1887-1964) and Gertrude “Gertie” Flym (1886-1973), who married at Winnipeg on 27 July 1917, lived in East St. Paul (and later in East Kildonan), and had three other children: Annie “Anne” de Groot (1918-2006), John William de Groot (1919-1926), and Frederick de Groot (1921-1926). They grew up at Birds Hill and, with the onset of the Second World War, Al and Art enlisted for military service. They served overseas (1942-1946) in Europe, and following demobilization, purchased this property and surrounding area in 1947 under the Veterans Land Act.
Al married Sophia “Sophie” Bugera (1921-2004) and had one daughter, Judith, and three sons, Ronald, Frederick, and Jeffrey. They resided at 2 Norman Avenue and he worked for Canada Safeway for around a decade. He died at the Winnipeg General Hospital on 13 December 1962 and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery.
Art, born 15 February 1924, married Winnifred Poyser (1924-2013) at the Elmwood Christian Reform Church on 13 November 1948 and had four children: John, Glen, Lorna, and Diane. He and worked for Winnipeg Transit until 1974, where in semi-retirement they moved to Roblin and operated the Eastway Motel. He died at Brownsville, Texas on 23 March 1996 and was buried in the Green Acres Memorial Gardens.
Both brothers raised their respective families and operated market gardens. This Winnipeg property remained in the de Groot family until 1994 when Sophie, the last of their immediate family members, vacated the vicinity. Development of the surrounding Eaglemere development began in the early 1990s, with the naming of the park around the mid-1990s. The commemorative plaque, park amenities, and greenery were established at this location sometime after 2006.
de Groot Park commemorative plaque (May 2019)
Source: Nathan KramerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.91871, W97.05425
denoted by symbol on the map above
Birth [Annie de Groot], marriage [John de Groot & Gertrude Flynn], & death registrations [Fredrick de Groot], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1926 Canada census, Library and Archives Canada.
Death notice [Frederick de Groot], Winnipeg Free Press, 5 May 1926, page 10.
Death notice [Frederick de Groot], Winnipeg Free Press, 7 May 1926, page 21.
“Winnifred Poyser weds A. de Groot," ” Winnipeg Free Press, 18 November 1948, page 14.
Obituary [Albert de Groot], Winnipeg Tribune, 15 December 1962, page 24.
Winnipeg estate file #22/1963, Albert De Groot, Archives of Manitoba.
Obituary [John de Groot], ” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 July 1964, page 32.
Engagements [de Groot - Smith], Winnipeg Free Press, 21 July 1973, page 22.
Obituary [Gertrude “Gertie” de Groot], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 October 1973, page 42.
“The City of Winnipeg [Proposed 1992 local improvements ...]," ” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 September 1992, page A4.
“Eaglemere [full page ad]," ” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 September 1992, page 221 & 222.
Obituary [Arthur de Groot], Winnipeg Free Press, 27 March 1996, page 30.
Obituary [Sophia de Groot], Winnipeg Free Press, 1 November 2004, page 18.
Winnipeg estate file PR04-01-67895, Sophie de Groot, Archives of Manitoba.
“Councillor vows swift action on Eaglemere survey,” Winnipeg Free Press (The Herald), 27 July 2005, pages 1 & 4.
Obituary [Anne de Groot], ” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 April 2006, page 44.
“Eaglemere repairs costly,” Winnipeg Free Press (The Herald), 25 May 2006, pages 1 & 5.
East Kildonan-Transcona Community Committee, 18 July 2006, regular meeting minutes - Reports - No 296. [City Clerk’s Decision Making Information System]
Obituary [Lorna Poyser], ” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 May 2012, page 30.
Winnipeg estate file PR12-01-91927, Lorna Doris Poyser, Archives of Manitoba.
Obituary [Winnifred de Groot], ” Winnipeg Free Press, 20 April 2013, page B14.
Elmwood Cemetery burial transcriptions, FindAGrave.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 22 June 2019
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