Vander Vennen said Mr. Vandezande spoke of the people he admired most during his years in Holland: The pastors, professors, politicians and theologians who were part of the anti-Nazi resistance movement.

“There was a strong tradition of Christian democracy in Holland that Gerald was deeply inspired by and engaged with in his life,” he recalled.

Born in Holland to Annie and Gerald, the 77-year-old father of two, grandfather of five and great-grandfather of two never forgot the memory of Canadian troops liberating Holland, said Joe Gunn, current executive director of Citizens for Public Justice.

Gunn remembers Mr. Vandezande as “larger than a life” and “a kind fellow who left a real impression.”

In the book Justice, Not Just Us, Mr. Vandezande defended the rights of low-income Canadians during a time of economic uncertainty and concern about the deficit in 1999 and 2000. He did likewise in a number of opinion pieces for The Catholic Register.

That was part of Mr. Vandezande's legacy, Vander Vennen said.

“He was a real pioneer in multi-faith approaches to advocating for social justice. He vigourously opposed the marginalization of faith from the public square.”

Mr. Vandezande also spoke at a convention of Catholic teachers because he “believed in the rights of Christian schools,” Gunn said. He also advocated for other faith-based schools.

Mr. Vandezande had a strong prayer life and on the Saturday morning that he died, his wife was getting ready for their daily morning prayer which began with watching the televised Catholic Mass, Gunn said.

Although not a Catholic, Mr. Vandezande found the homilies and readings useful in his prayer life, Gunn said. A member of the Christian Reformed Church, he strongly believed in ecumenism and working with other faith groups.

Mr. Vandezande's legacy is also his anti-poverty work, Gunn said. He was a member of the June Callwood campaign against child poverty and Campaign 2000 which sought to end poverty in Canada

A good friend of Tommy Douglas and other influential politicians from all political parties, Vandezande believed in a non-partisan approach to social justice, said Vander Vennen, an approach reflected in his philosophy on faith.

“It's very much the idea that a lot of Christian-based, biblical values speak to many people, even those who are not of any particular faith, and you can appeal to people's value system to have better public policy,” Gunn said. “Once you have people get together and reflect on those basic values, you can make change happen.”