Adriaan C. de Vries was born in the Netherlands, one of four boys. There were eight sons by his ninth year. In 1952, his parents emigrated to Ontario to find greater opportunity, while simultaneously escaping the socialism they judged to be creeping into Holland. Most of his education, including his BA, was in “Christian” schools, a part of a conservative Dutch immigrant community, schools set up to espouse Calvinism and to obviate, to fend off secularism. As he matured into self-awareness as queer, Adriaan perfected the art of hiding while working hard to excel and prove his worth to counter his growing internalized homophobia and homomisia. To his relief, while abetting his budding baby steps to freedom, his graduate degrees were obtained in secular universities: U of T and WLU.
Adriaan worked in the Canadian federal public service for 21 years as a finance manager in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. Upon retiring from the public service, he joined the HIV/AIDS sector. Eventually he fully retired, staying engaged through volunteering with Health Initiative for Men, Rainbow Refugee Society, Dignity Senior Society, and QMUNITY as a teacher, facilitator, administrator, and advocate. At 68, he embraced a new passion as a yoga instructor. Realizing he has something to say, he joined Quirk-e in ’23. He continues to advocate for the underdog, especially 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors, for those with mental health needs, for universal equality, and for the planet.
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