Monday, November 14, 2011

Sofie Ketelaar (Oma), 1921-2011

Oma on the Cape, July 2010Oma's Garden #1Oma's Garden #2My favorite grandparentsPete, Opa, Karen, and OmaClassy hat lady
Oma and her girlsMeeting the other grandsOma's crewOma, Opa, MasonGroup shot!Oma, Finn, Karen
Pete & OmaChallenging FinnMore games with Oma Oma!2 Omas and FinnOma Oma & Oma playing with Finn!Oma, Opa, & Finn!
Oma, Finn, and Petey (the Parakeet!)

Sofie Ketelaar (Oma), a set on Flickr.

Pete here... We lost an amazing person today, someone very dear to me. I know that my family and I will miss her very much.

Sofie was born and grew up in Germany, where she married Josef (Opa) 69 years ago! They had 3 kids (while surviving World War 2...!) and came to the US in 1952. Even though they spoke no English when they came here, they managed to build an honest and admirable life for themselves and raise 3 incredible children. They have also been an amazing part of the lives of their grandchildren and great grandchildren as well.

We are so honored to have been able to know Sofie, and I (Pete) feel so lucky to have been able to know her both as a child and as an adult. Her life and her words have always been an inspiration to me, and though I will miss her always, I will also always have great memories of her and remember the wise words she shared with me.

Goodbye, Oma! I love you! Thank you for all the love that you shared with me, and with all of us. We're all the better for it.

(I'll add more pictures to this set as we go...)

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