Oak Ridge: Hetty Louise Karels van Eek, age 88; John (Jan) Herman van Eek, age 90

Best friends and soulmates, Hetty passed away on December 31, 2019, and Jan passed away on April 6, 2020. Though they were separated the last few months with lengthy illnesses, they never stopped asking about one another. They were married on May 31, 1956, in The Hague, The Netherlands, and they would have celebrated 64 years of marriage on May 31, 2020.

Hetty was born in The Hague, The Netherlands, on March 7, 1931, to Willem and Catharina Karels. Jan was born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on January 9, 1930, to Herman and Petronella van Eek.

They grew up in The Netherlands and survived World War II. They immigrated to the United States in 1960. One of their proudest moments was becoming American citizens in 1967 and being able to both have careers. Jan retired from Y-12 and Hetty retired from EG&G Ortec, both after several years of employment.

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