Realizing that time was growing increasingly short to capture precious memories from my 92 year old mother, I embarked on a project to not only record the known but also to unearth the unknown. I quickly realized that I knew very little about my mom’s English Canadian roots, and even less about my dad’s Dutch roots. With the passing of my Grandfather Reyst ten years before I was born, my Grandmother Reyst (née Smouter) at age 7, and 2 1/2 years later the loss of my father at age 9 1/2, I remained in the dark about most of my Dutch heritage until venturing on this quest. So for the 3 most important women in my life, my mother, Mildred Reyst, and my daughters, Erin and Kristine Klema, I hope to unfold the story of my Dutch heritage in loving memory of my father, Arie Russell Reyst.