The oldest man in Brabant, Theo Loermans, died on Saturday at the age of 105. His family has announced that. Theo lived in Geffen and led a special and fascinating life. He was an interior designer and his designs reached top people from Philips and PSV, the Sultan of Oman and even the president of America.
Theo died after a short sickbed, Saturday afternoon around half -three, in the presence of his family. “It happened very unexpectedly,” says his 22-year-old granddaughter Antje Beers. “His life lasted a long time, but his death was short and with little suffering. We proudly look back on his life.”
Loermans was born in Nijmegen in 1919. In the 1970s he moved to Brabant: first to Oss, later to Geffen. He married his wife Agnes, affectionately called ‘Anjes’ by him. She died in 2010; They were married for 61 years. “A fantastic woman,” Theo said about her in an interview that he gave last September. “I did everything for her. And everyone stayed away from that.”
“The Speelkwartier was over at a later age.”
“My grandfather has experienced so much in his life,” says Antje. He was a student in Nijmegen during the Second World War and experienced the bombing of the city. “He then saved someone from a house.”
Drawing was his great passion – his hobby and his work. As an interior designer, he designed interiors, but also imaginative performances. He drew daily until old age. “The Speelkwartier was over at a later age,” he joked, when his sight deteriorated. “Drawing is no longer possible because my vision gets worse.”
Yet he was grateful: “Life stops once, isn’t it,” he said resigned. “But I got the gift to grow old. That includes gratitude, opposite the Creator. That I could have the health of God. Sounds very sweet, isn’t it?” he laughed.
“He was a sweet grandfather with a lot of passion.”
One of his drawings shows a man in a coffin surrounded by happy people. It was his own funeral, he said laughing, “Yes, there I am shivering from the cold.” Why he made it? “To bully the others. What would they think? If they know you’re going down?”
Antje, his youngest grandchild, was born when Theo was already 83. “He was a sweet grandfather with a lot of passion. What I take with him is his gratitude. Life has setbacks, but there is always something to be grateful for: family, the weather, or just the people around you. According to my grandfather, they are the most important thing.” Be aware of your happiness, “he always said.”
Who is now the oldest man in Brabant is not known at the moment. The oldest inhabitant of our province is Mrs Jo Polders-Langeweg from Oosterhout. She hopes to be 108 years old on 8 September.
In September 2024, Theo Loermans told about his life:
