On Saturday 17 October @ 14:00, we laid Dad to rest. We held a small, informal ceremony in the North Sea at Whitstable, a place in England as close to the coast of The Netherlands as possible.

We waded a little way into the sea, facing Nuenen across the water.

We thanked everyone who had so generously donated in Dad’s name to the Alzheimer’s Society -  raising nearly £1000 - and we read out all your lovely and meaningful messages. 

Then we read a short poem that we feel sums up the essence of Dad:

A Successful Man
(Anon)

That man is a success
Who has lived well, laughed often and loved much
Who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children
Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task
Who leaves the world better than he found it
Who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty nor failed to express it
Who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had

We placed Dad’s ashes into a water-soluble bag to which we tied 12 (for his birthday) red roses (his favourite) before “sailing” it into the sea.  About a minute after his ashes sank, the beautiful crown of roses bobbed to the surface of the sea. We also scattered in the sea some colourful red, yellow and orange flowers and petals to float away with him.

As the outgoing tide took Dad’s ashes on the slow journey towards his homeland, we drank a toast with Dad’s favourite Dutch Gin.  Proost!

At the same time that we were celebrating Dad’s life in England, our lovely cousin and Dad’s nephew, Cees, placed 12 red roses on Dad’s parents’ grave in Nuenen. 

Dad rests now in the right place; in the North Sea between the two countries in which he lived his life so well.  And always gave the best he had.

Bianca, Tracy and Michael