Thursday, December 29, 2016
This letter is from my Aunt Jansje in Holland and is beautiful. Dad, I miss you....
On Thursday December 22 we received the sad news that Lammert, our brother, brother in law and uncle had died. In this letter we want to tell our feelings and our story about how we knew him and how he will live in our minds forever.
Lammert was born on the farm “Half-Brandenborch” as the eldest child of three. He grew up with his sister Betsie who was two years younger. After almost sixteen years, his little sister Jansje was born.
Lammert was very spirited and sometimes naughty. With his friend Henk Weenk (who later became his brother in law) and cousin Jan Jansen they pulled a lot of pranks, usually headed by him. After the Second World War they defused bombs. They were only fourteen years old at that time.
He also made a telephone connection through the trees with a hiding place because “Half-Brandenborch” was no longer habitable due to the bombings along the railway. The liberators of the Netherlands and the Canadians already have inspired him to emigrate when he was just a young boy.
In 1954 Lammert moved to his new homeland. He was called "Clem" and got married that year in Canada with Jessie Wild. For those left behind this departure was pretty tough, but Lammert had a special way to stay in contact with his family and friends which made the loss acceptable.
Every week he wrote a letter to his family. His father (grandfather) Klein Lebbink wrote back until 1979 when his father was’nt able to write anymore because of his illness. He unfortunately died in 1981.
Mother (grandmother) started to call him every week and Lammert continued writing until December 1996 when grandmother died. They must have written about 2200 letters.
But it was not only the letters that made the contact very special. He visited us mostly every year. Sometimes he travelled alone and several times Lillian accompanied him to “sniffer the Dutch air”, as she always said. From the Netherlands, his mother, sisters, brothers in laws and cousins visited him. We always felt very welcome.
Even after our (grand)mother had died Lammert kept travelling to Holland and he called Betsie and Jansje on a regular base. When we hadn’t heard anything from him in two weeks, just one mail with the subject “where is Lammert” made Betty, Tina and Gordon respond immediately about what was going on.
We have appreciated this very much, because there was concern about him. His health had become brittle over the years, but fortunately he found himself surrounded by many lovely people there and Lillian played the lead. Gordon deserves a great compliment for his care and attention to Lammert in the last years. He always stayed in contact with Lammerts sisters and brothers in law in the Netherlands.
To Lammert:
"Dear brother, brother in law and uncle, now you're gone, we'll never hear your voice again, or your stories about how you lived your life. You have lived your life with great dedication and warm sincerity, gratitude and optimism. Even when life wasn’t always easy, you always said:
"I’m fine. Couldn’t be better... " It was admirable the way you have lived your life.
Dear Lammert, thank you for all those wonderful years in which you have made the distance a bit shorter by staying in contact. You were a fantastic and generous man.
Thanks for everything and that's a lot! Lammert, you will be missed!
"UNFORGETTABLE"
Lammert, you have become unforgettable in our lives
you will always be in our thoughts;
We will meet you in our dreams and hear your voice.
We will continue to tell about you: "Do you remember ...
We will continue to miss you, your smile, your interest.
We can’t understand it yet, you're so far away for good!
You've become unforgettable in our lives
you will always accompany us in our life.
You will remain a scar in our existence.
You will remain a sign of love in our lives.
We want to continue our lives with courage
knowing you are with us ...
Lots of love from Betsie and Henk, Jansje and Gerrit and their children
