Gerrit van Meerveld & Geesje Westerhof - 2xgreat-grandparents
Hendrika
Gerrit van Meerveld was born on 30 August 1894 in Watergraafsmeer, Noord-Holland. His parents were labourer Jan van Meerveld and his wife Helena Slokker. Tragically, Jan died when Gerrit was only four weeks of age. Years later Helena began a relationship with a coal worker and sailor, Teunis van Woensel, and they had two children before marrying in 1911. However, they divorced in 1914. Helena worked as a cleaner to support her children.
Geesje Westerhof was born on 23 October 1897 in Blankenham, Overijssel. Her parents were labourer Marten Scheer and his wife, farmer's daughter Hendrika Scheer. Geesje was the youngest child, named for an older sister that had died in infancy.
Gerrit and Geesje married on 26 February 1915 in Diemen, Noord-Holland. At the time they were a labourer and a servant. They went on to raise thirteen children, moving to Duivendrecht in 1928. Gerrit worked as a farmer owned a farm nearby to their terrace house. He employed local boys to work on his farm and also assisted cattle merchants. In his later years Gerrit worked as a greenkeeper.
Geesje died on 1 July 1974 in Ouder-Amstel aged 76; Gerrit died on 10 November 1975 aged 81.
Children: Hendrika van Meerveld(1915-2002) Jan van Meerveld (1917-c1998) Martha Helena van Meerveld (1920-2008) Gerrit van Meerveld (1922-2005) Aaltje van Meerveld (1923-c2005) Hendrik Willem van Meerveld (1924-1995) Willem van Meerveld (1925-1943) Marten van Meerveld (1927-2017) Pieter van Meerveld (living) Helena van Meerveld (1931-2012) Jakob van Meerveld (1932-2009) Margje van Meerveld (living) Johan van Meerveld (1936-2009)
Jan van Meerveld was born on 23 July 1917 in Diemen. On 14 November 1946 in Amsterdam he married Anna Elizabeth de Glas (1924-1991), known as Ank. They lived in Amsterdam for the next fourteen years, where they had their three children:
Anna Gesina van Meerveld (living)
Jan Albertus van Meerveld (living)
Kees van Meerveld (living)
In 1960 Jan and Ank moved to Oostzaan, about 15 kilometres north of Amsterdam, where they remained for the rest of their lives.
Jan was a wholesaler in meat products with his own business in Oostzaan. Ank was a very skilled classically trained pianist and opera singer.
Ank died on 18 May 1991 in Amsterdam aged 66, and Jan died later in the 1990s.
Martha Helena van Meerveld (1920-2008)
Map
Martha Helena van Meerveld, known as Map, was born on 16 April 1920 in Diemen. On 10 December 1947 in Amsterdam she married Dirk van Veen. They had one daughter:
Ineke van Veen (living)
Map and Dirk lived in Duivendrecht and in the mid-1970s, after Gerrit and Geesje died, they took in Map's younger sister Alie, who had a mental disability. Shortly afterwards, their daughter married a German and moved to Lykershausen, in western Germany. Map and Dirk decided to move to Lykershausen as well, and brought Alie who happily remained with them for the rest of her life. Map died on 1 November 2008 in Lykershausen aged 88. Dirk died in Lykershausen some years later.
Gerrit van Meerveld (1922-2005)
Gerrit
Gerrit van Meerveld was born on 24 January 1922 in Diemen. On 8 March 1950 in Amsterdam he married Catharina Wolf (1921-2003), known as Kitty. They had two children:
Renata Alida Gesina van Meerveld (living)
Gerrit Simon van Meerveld (living)
Kitty died on 19 September 2003 in Duivendrecht aged 82. Gerrit remained an avid golfer, placing in tournaments just months before his death. He died on 24 March 2005 in Duivendrecht, aged 83.
Aaltje van Meerveld (1923-c2005)
Alie
Aaltje van Meerveld, known as Alie, was born on 8 August 1923 in Diemen. She had a congenital mental disability, retaining the mental age of around four. She was lovingly cared for by her parents, and after their deaths she was taken in by her sister Map and her husband Dirk. When they moved to Lykershausen in Germany, Alie moved with them. She was a beloved member of the family, and enjoyed colouring in and helping prepare meals. Being so well cared for, she greatly exceeded her life expectancy, and died in about 2005 in Lykershausen, aged around 80.
Hendrik Willem van Meerveld (1924-1995)
Hendrik
Hendrik Willem van Meerveld was born on 30 September 1924 in Diemen. On 5 February 1947 in Amsterdam he married Jannetje Hubert (1928-2010), known as Jannie, who was from Uithoorn, Noord-Holland. Hendrik and Jannie had three children:
Willem van Meerveld (living)
Tineke van Meerveld (living)
Greet van Meerveld (living)
Hendrik died on 1 November 1995 in Amsterdam aged 71. Jannie died on 14 June 2010 in Duivendrecht aged 82.
Willem van Meerveld (1925-1943)
Willem van Meerveld was born on 21 December 1925 in Diemen. He suffered from a congenital heart condition, which was managed with medication. However, during the Nazi occupation the importation of the drugs he needed was blockaded, which resulted in Willem's premature death from heart failure on 9 December 1943, aged just 17.
Marten van Meerveld (1927-2017)
Marten
Marten van Meerveld was born on 17 June 1927 in Diemen. As a young man he served in the military in South-East Asia and his parents hosted a welcome-home party for him. On 12 October 1951 in Amsterdam he married Wies Vriens (living). They lived in Amsterdam for many years, where they raised their three children:
Joke van Meerveld (1952-2015)
Elly van Meerveld (living)
Olga van Meerveld (living)
Marten and Wies later moved to Almere, Flevoland. Marten, an avid golfer, is remembered as a friendly, quiet man with a fun sense of humour. He passed away on 17 October 2017 in Almere, aged 90.
Pieter van Meerveld (living)
Details suppressed
Helena van Meerveld (1931-2012)
Lenie
Helena van Meerveld, known as Lenie, was born on 16 June 1931 in Ouder-Amstel. On 19 October 1950 in Amsterdam, she married Teunis van Eijk (1924-2006), known as Teun. They had three children:
Inge van Eijk (living)
Ellen van Eijk (living)
Rob van Eijk (living)
Teun died on 8 March 2006 in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel aged 81. Lenie died suddenly on 21 September 2012 in Amstelveen, Noord-Holland aged 81. They are buried together in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel.
Jakob van Meerveld (1932-2009)
Jaap
Jakob van Meerveld, known as Jaap, was born on 17 October 1932 in Ouder-Amstel. Jaap moved to Canada as a young man, settling in Calgary, Alberta. There he met his wife Minnie. Jaap and Minnie would always return to Holland for the family celebrations of his parents' anniversaries. Jaap was a passionate hunter and, like his brothers, an equally passionate golfer. He later lived in a senior living apartment in Calgary, where he died of a brain tumour in around 2009.
Margje van Meerveld (living)
Details suppressed
Johan van Meerveld (1936-2009)
Joop
Johan van Meerveld, known as Joop, was born on 5 August 1936 in Ouder-Amstel. He remembered his childhood very fondly, and felt spoiled as the youngest child of thirteen. Like the other siblings, he attended a strict Christian school in Duivendrecht for twelve years. In later life he remarked that with so much evil in the world, the teachings could not be true.
On 4 September 1958 in Amsterdam he married Emmetje van den Burg (living). They lived in Ouder-Amstel where they raised their four children:
Ronald van Meerveld (1959-2003)
Marcel van Meerveld (living)
Petra van Meerveld (living)
Johan van Meerveld (living)
Joop worked as a coal merchant and was a very avid golfer. After a long hiatus, he was encouraged to take it up again by his brother Jaap while visiting him in Canada in 1983. He passed away following a battle with cancer on 22 November 2009 in Ouder-Amstel, aged 73.