Joan and Anthony Vant Geloof are joined by sons John (back row, centre left) and Bill with Yurle, in presenting a significant donation to Janice Perrino and Walter Despot (left) of the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation. The funding will help provide medical equipment for the upcoming expansion of Penticton Regional Hospital.

You might recognize Anthony and Joan Vant Geloof by their construction firm Starline Enterprises and their high-profile developments in Penticton.

They also take great pride in giving back to the community. The Vant Geloof family is making a profound donation of $250,000 to help provide medical equipment for the new Patient Care Tower at Penticton Regional Hospital.

Anthony and Joan Vant Geloof were both raised in Holland and met in Edmonton after immigrating separately to Canada in the mid-1950s. They have now been married for 60 years.

“I never met my wife until we were in Edmonton. She came with her parents,” Anthony recalled.

They soon built a new life, but not without some hard times along the way. For a while they lived in a converted chicken coop on a cousin’s farm.

Anthony recalls how a neighbour offered to loan the family some money to buy a house of their own.

“I think that’s what changed the whole thing for us – a place to live decently,” he said. “That was the turning point for everybody.”

The Vant Geloofs’ business grew and they later moved to Langley, where they lived for almost 20 years before moving to Penticton in 1989. Today, Anthony and Joan Vant Geloof still work closely with their sons, Bill and John who are equal partners in the company.

Anthony and Joan have been long-time supporters of Penticton Regional Hospital, donating to many of the campaigns for medical equipment over the years. Both agree that the community has a real need for the PRH expansion, which was a key reason for their support.

Bill admitted, just like any family they occasionally have their differences, but they stick together. Their family has also experienced its share of heartbreak.

“In the spring of 1973 my little five-year-old sister died right in front of our house in Langley. She fell off a bike and hit her head,” Bill recalled.

Later, the infant child of his younger brother who lives on the Lower Mainland, passed away.

“So the children’s ward has been like a special place for our family,” Bill said. “We know what it’s like for other people to have to deal with that too.”

Janice Perrino, executive director of the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation, praised the Vant Geloofs’ support for the PRH campaign.

“This family is all about giving back to their community and helping others. We are extremely grateful,” Perrino said.

Construction of the PRH expansion is set to begin in the spring of 2016 and be completed by late 2019.