Memorial Speech – For Ina

Dear friends and family,

Who could have imagined that, less than five months after losing Aukje, we would now be saying goodbye to Ina? The cancer had returned, and this time, there was no cure. And so, here I am—standing in a place I never wanted to be, saying goodbye to my sister.

Ina—my little sister, though she eventually grew taller than me.

We always got along so well. From a young age, we were close. We traveled together—often with Gerrie and Ineke, but also just the two of us. We flew to Spain, Mallorca, Ibiza, and Greece. I’ll never forget our trip to Ibiza in the early ‘70s—back when there were barely any tourists. We met a kind man named Jesús, a violinist in the National Orchestra of Madrid. He took us all over the island. It was such a special time. We never forgot it.

In 1975, Ina got married, and naturally, life took us in different directions for a while.

But when her children moved out and she and Henk moved to Vries, we reconnected. We saw each other more often, went shopping together regularly. Ina had a sharp eye for a bargain!

I still remember that Queen’s Day in Groningen. We were at her favorite store, Bonita. She bought something, and while we were at the register, I jokingly asked, “It’s Queen’s Day—can’t my sister get a discount?” The cashier looked shocked: “You two are sisters??” And to our surprise, they actually gave her a discount! We laughed about that for a long time.

After we both retired, we started traveling again. Always flying from Eelde—nice and easy. I’d park at their place, and Henk would drive us to the airport. Just ten minutes away.

One of our most unforgettable trips was to Rhodes. One evening, we were looking for a place to eat, when a Greek man walked straight up to Ina and said, “You beautiful woman, I want to marry you.”

Ina was surprised and said, “That’s not possible. I’m married.”

And the man replied, “I’m married too, but that’s not a problem. I still want to marry you.”

We laughed so hard later on. One of many stories we told over and over again.

Our last trip together was just before COVID. We went back to Mallorca. It was such a beautiful holiday. Ina loved being on the water, so we took a wonderful boat trip. She struck up a conversation with a man onboard—who turned out to know our brother Wim! What a small world.

As we got older, our trips became a little shorter, a little closer to home. Ina had two new knees and a new hip by then. But we still found joy in our little adventures—especially in Friesland, where we went every year.

One time, I surprised her with a boat ride from Stavoren to Enkhuizen. It was Queen’s Day again. We arrived in Enkhuizen, ready for coffee and a tompouce—because of course, that’s what you do on Queen’s Day. But they didn’t have any! We were both shocked. And funny enough, we talked about that again in our very last conversation.

Whenever I visited Ina, we always played Scrabble in the afternoons. Even when her eyesight began to fail, she still loved those games. I’m going to miss that so much. And when she stayed with me, Scrabble was always part of the plan.

There’s one more story I’d like to share with you.

Ina and I were spending a few days in Leeuwarden, staying at Hotel Oranje across from the train station. It was a beautiful day, and we were sitting on the terrace. Suddenly, a man stumbled and nearly collapsed right in front of us.

Without missing a beat, Ina jumped up. In an instant, she went from sister to nurse. She placed the man on his side, calmly went inside to call for help, and made sure an ambulance was on the way. So professional. Even now, I’m still amazed when I think back on it.

And there’s one last thing Ina asked me to share.

She told me that when the chemotherapy made her feel down, she would call our sister Aukje. And Aukje always made her feel better. She listened, she comforted her, and helped Ina find peace. That meant so much to her.

Ina, my dear sister, what a loss this is.

What wonderful memories we’ve shared. What a privilege it’s been to walk through life with you—not just as my sister, but as a travel companion, a scrabble partner, a shopping buddy, and most of all, a dear friend.

I will miss you deeply.

Big kiss, sweet Ina.