Nina Baldwin Vanleeuwen

In Memory of Nina Margaret Baldwin VanLeeuwen
February 1934 – September 17, 2022
Funeral Service
Saturday November 5th , 2022 11:00 AM
St Cyril’s Catholic Church 15520 Ventura Blvd, Encino, CA 91436
On Saturday September 17, 2022, Nina Margaret Baldwin VanLeeuwen of Encino, California, passed
from this life to the next. Born in Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada, Nina was the oldest of six children to the
late James and Jean Burdan. She was predeceased by her sister Peggy Celli (Mark) as well as her
brothers Bob and Steve Burdan. Nina met and married the love of her life Stephen Edward Boyd
Baldwin, in July of 1959. Tragically widowed in February of 1964 with two daughters under the age of 3
as well as her three inherited daughters, she decided in late 1965 to leave the cold north. She traveled
for a while with her two youngest daughters, living in Spain, British Columbia, and Florida and eventually
settled in California in 1967. First and foremost, family was her priority. She never let her daughters
forget where they came from, traveling many summers back to visit their Canadian sisters, aunts, uncles
and cousins and to the Baldwin family cottage on Oxtongue Lake in northern Ontario, Canada. It is a
testament to her commitment that family ties remain strong to this day.
Nina loved life. She was fiercely independent, bold and beautiful. She spent over fifty years working in
sales for a myriad of products, such as real estate, fine china, lingerie, and insurance; to name a few.
She was a presence that was not to be denied and could sell anything to anyone. She had many
interests, including golf, travel, dancing, yachting and gambling. She often reminisced about the trip she
made to Scotland and playing golf at St. Andrews.
In 1995, she married Ernest Van Leeuwen, a marathon runner and Electrical Engineer. She and Ernie
shared their love of family, visiting with both of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Nina and Ernie explored numerous locales in Europe, Canada and the United States until his death in
2007. She made many friends once she put down roots in Southern California through her sales
contacts, her membership in an organization for empowering women (Soroptomists), the Catholic
church and later with Ernie, the Tugnet computer group, for which she served on the board for several
years and maintained membership until her death.
In 2014, for her 80 th birthday, she orchestrated a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada with all five of her daughters,
where she was also joined by granddaughter Belynda and grandson Ryan. Watching her control the die
and dazzle the crowd at a “CRAPS” table was something to witness.
Nina leaves an indelible mark on the people she met and she will be greatly missed.  She was pre-
deceased by her daughter Lynne Baldwin Corrias of Rome, Italy, in 2019 as well as her eldest
granddaughter, Belynda Cleland Kerelchuk of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada in 2020. Nina leaves behind
two Canadian daughters, Paula Baldwin and Leslie Baldwin Westlake who both still reside in Ontario,
Canada and her daughters and their husbands, April and Paul Romain and Stephanie and David Devine,
who have homes in Ventura County.  Nina will also be missed by her brother and his wife, David and Kim
Burdan, brother Tom Burdan, as well as numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and
nephews.   A Catholic mass will be held at her parish church, St. Cyrils’ of Jerusalem in Encino, CA on
November 5 th , 2022 at 11:00 AM. Family and friends are invited to join us in celebrating her life after the
mass at her home in Encino. Hats are optional but sugggested since she was very fond of hats of all
shapes and sizes.
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