Gerry Kuipers (born Gerhardus Kuipers; 31 July 1935) was a Dutch-Canadian businessman and auto restorer active in the late twentieth century. Kuipers was also the plaintiff in the 1976 Alberta Supreme Court lawsuit Kuipers v Gordon Riley Transport. Following Kuipers' passing in 2013, many of his personal papers were archived in the Gerry Segger Heritage Collection at The King's University in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Early life

Gerry Kuipers was born in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 1935 and immigrated to Canada in 1954 at the age of nineteen. In 1997, Kuipers' memories of

the Netherlands in World War II Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of '' Fall Gelb'' (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal f ...

were published by the Zwartsluis Historical Society.

Entrepreneurship

Gerry Kuipers founded several Canadian industrial companies including Rainbow Eavestroughing in 1964, Rainbow Aluminum Products in 1977, Rainbow Metal Products in 1982, and Hardwill Holdings in 1990. In 1986, Rainbow Metal Products built the eves for Edmonton's Youth Empowerment & Support Services (YESS), whose buildings at 9310 82 Avenue have been recognized regionally in Alberta for their Late Art Deco architectural style.

Automotive restoration

Kuipers began restoring Ford Model A automobiles in the 1970s; however, it was not until the early 2000s that Kuipers began to receive national recognition in Canada for the collection of automobiles that he had restored. Some of Kuipers' notable restorations include the 1929 Ford Model A Pickup, restored in 1979, and the 1931 Ford Phaeton Deluxe, restored in 2001. Kuipers' 1929 Ford Model A Pickup was used as the Royal Mail delivery truck in Roger Tilton's 1982 film Pilots North with Kuipers acting as the postman and driving the truck throughout the film. Following Kuipers' restoration of a 1930 Ford Model A Roadster, the

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...

stated that Kuipers had "revived a piece of Canadian heritage" and the

Victoria Times Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the September 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ' ...

stated that the legacy of Kuipers' work "inspires patriotism" in Canada.

Canwest Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place (now called 201 Portage). It held radio, ...

journalist Darcy Gray wrote that the Canadian origin of Kuipers' 1930 Ford Model A Roadster was proven due to the fact that Kuipers found the body intact with original

Robertson screw A Robertson screw, also known as a square screw or Scrulox, is a type of screw with a Square (geometry), square-shaped socket in the screw head and a corresponding square protrusion on the tool. Both the tool and socket have a slight Cone, taper ...

s, which were not used in American models. Canadian automotive historian James C. Mays has written that the cost for Kuipers' 1930 Model A "peaked in the $40,000 range" in the mid-1990s. In 2005, Kuipers won first prize at the Powerama Motoring Expo for a restored 1930 Ford Model A Roadster.

Kuipers v Gordon Riley Transport

Gerry Kuipers was the plaintiff in the 1976 Alberta Supreme Court lawsuit ''Kuipers v Gordon Riley Transport'', which has received

judicial notice Judicial notice is a rule in the law of evidence that allows a fact to be introduced into evidence if the truth of that fact is so notorious or well-known, or so authoritatively attested, that it cannot reasonably be doubted. This is done upon the ...

and has been followed variously in the

Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island The Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island (also called the Prince Edward Island Supreme Court, or PESC) is the superior court of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The Court is composed of five judges, led by its Chief Justice, curre ...

, the

Supreme Court of British Columbia The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Court hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. There are 90 judici ...

, and the

Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta The Court of King's Bench of Alberta (abbreviated in citations as ABKB or Alta. K.B.) is the superior trial court of the Canadian province of Alberta. During the reign of Elizabeth II, it was named Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. The Court w ...

. The suit pertained to a car accident in

Southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but o ...

on 28 January 1972 which left one of Kuipers' sons seriously injured. Historically the lawsuit has been cited in

Canadian tort case law Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

because of Samuel Sereth Lieberman's judgments regarding

negligence Negligence ( Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate care expected to be exercised in similar circumstances. Within the scope of tort law, negligence pertains to harm caused by the violation of a duty of care through a neg ...

and

standard of care In tort law, the standard of care is the only degree of prudence and caution required of an individual who is under a duty of care. The requirements of the standard are closely dependent on circumstances. Whether the standard of care has been b ...

. Additionally, the case has been identified as part of a historical shift in

Canadian tort law Canadian tort law is composed of two parallel systems: a common law framework outside Québec and a civil law framework within Québec, making the law system is bijural, as it is used throughout Canadian provinces except for Québec, which uses ...

in the 1970s which took place when several Albertan personal injury lawsuits began to be argued based on negligence principles instead of the English tort of public nuisance. The case was settled in Kuipers' favour and the family was awarded a total of $124,077.09 in damages.

Personal life

Gerry Kuipers had four children, one of whom is Canadian philosopher

Ronald A. Kuipers Ronald A. Kuipers is a Canadian philosopher of religion based in Toronto, Ontario. History Ronald A. Kuipers was born in Edmonton, Edmonton, Canada. From 1989 to 1990, Kuipers worked as the Entertainment Editor of The Gateway (newspaper), The ...

. Gerry Kuipers was a member of the Alberta Genealogical Society and Kuipers' personal genealogical research has been discussed in various publications such as Relatively Speaking and Aus der Grafschaft Bentheim in die Neue Welt. Gerry Kuipers passed away on 13 May 2013.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuipers, Gerry 1935 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Canadian businesspeople Antiques dealers Businesspeople from Alberta Businesspeople from Edmonton Dutch emigrants to Canada Canadian business executives Canadian manufacturing businesspeople Canadian people of Dutch descent Car restorers Dutch genealogists Manufacturing company founders