Her family

Mother has been raised in a family of 11 children, of which one child unfortunately died at the age of 2.

Below, you can find an overview of the whole family, ordered according to their age:

She was cherishing everybody of the family, not in the least both her parents.

Mother had to bid farewell to her father in 1966. "Pépé van Aartrijke", as we always called him, was busy digging in his kitchen garden, to prepare for the new season. All of a sudden, he became unwell and shortly after, he died. He was aged 78 years.

I remember when I was a little boy (back in 1966, I was aged 4), I was praying on the kitchen table at home together with some brothers and sisters for the recovery of my grandfather. In the meanwhile, we were all anxiously looking through the kitchen window to see if my Mother -- who went to her parents with her typical blue bicycle -- was coming back home to tell us possibly good news. But unfortunately, the only news we heard, was the death of our grandfather...

I've visited her father while he was on his deathbed. He was placed on the bier in his house, in a room adjacent to the outer wall.

In 1976, my Mother had to bid farewell to her mother. After being taken into the hospital for a couple of weeks, "Mémé van Aartrijke", as we allways called her, died at the age of 75.
I vividly remember my Mother saying, when she took her coat and prepared herself to go by bicycle to the hospital: "I hope my mother will not leave us too..."
A sentence which is engraved into my mind forever. My Mother cherished her mother very much, and this goodbye was really hard for her, like it is now for me...