Maria Antonisse's Obituary
Maria (Mieke) Antonisse, 95, formerly of Toms River, NJ, where she lived until November 2017, died at Beebe Hospital in Lewes, Delaware on March 15, 2018.
She is pre-deceased by her husband Hendrik J (Henk) and 3 of her 4 siblings living in the Netherlands. She is survived by her sister Wil, the Hague, Netherlands, daughter Pat (Martha), Rehoboth Beach, DE, son Jim (Peggy), Silver Spring, MD, son Rick (Rene) Colleyville, TX, grandchildren Jamie (Keren), Michelle, Dena, her great-grandson Jules and her loving cat Grayson.
“Mieke” was born in the Netherlands, shared a Dutch military and diplomatic life with her husband and immigrated to the United States in 1958 where they would raise their family in to be part of the American dream. They would share 54 years of marriage.
Living in occupied The Hague, Holland during WWII, she and her family were involved in the underground resistance movement when she met Henk, a member of her family church and also involved with the resistance. She loved to tell the story of how, to celebrate their one year anniversary in 1945 after the liberation, she flirted with American soldiers so they would ask her to the movies to which she would have her “brother” Henkcome along. The soldiers went along with the ruse, later bringing them a bottle of champagne to celebrate. They were eternally grateful to those soldiers, FDR and the US for entering the war.
After the war she supported Henk’s military career in his deployments to Curacao, Netherlands West Indies and to the Netherlands Embassy in Washington, DC. She was always the lovely, gracious (and fun loving!) hostess and was known for her lavish and unique Indonesian (formerly a Dutch colony) Rijstaffel dinners, which she presented over two nights to accommodate the obligatory invitees. One of the highlights of the DC tour was attendance at the Eisenhower Inauguration and meeting the President and his wife in the reception line.
Having enjoyed their years in DC, they decided to immigrate to the US in 1958 believing that their children would have better opportunities and that their life might be as glamorous as it had been in DC. Life was good for all even though DC balls and diplomatic parties would not be repeated. After staying with Henk’s parents and siblings, who had immigrated in prior years,in a sponsor’s house in Miami Beach, the family came north and settled in New Jersey. Mieke was a devoted wife and mother, fiercely protecting her brood as they moved 14 times in 25 years before settling to a nice all-American suburban life. In 1970 Mieke and Henk bought and ran the Whitfield Hotel in Ocean Grove, NJ where she made the lobby a beautiful and special place for relaxing and sharing special holiday gatherings.
Mieke was a vivacious, creative and artistic woman who always succeeded in making the life around her beautiful. Among Mieke’s last goals was to meet her great grandson. She did. They played together at her apartment at Brandywine Senior Living and wheelchaired/walked together on the boardwalk last Christmas.
The family would like to thank the staff at Brandywine Senior Living at Seaside Pointe for their loving, patient and professional care. Mieke expressed that she was happy and felt truly cared for by the staff during the last months of her life.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to The Popcorn Zoo, PO Box 43, Forked River, NJ 08731 https://www.ahscares.org.
Please sign Mieke's online guestbook located on this website.
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