Today is International Weatherman Day. A day to reflect on the work of all weather men and women. Weatherwoman Leidi van der Veen presented the weather on RTV Drenthe for 25 years. She was busy with her passion almost day and night. She passed away in October 2021. To reflect on her work, TV Drenthe is broadcasting a short documentary about Leidi today.
In the documentary, daughters Carina and Bettina tell how their mother was always busy with the weather, but in the meantime she was always at home and ready with a biscuit with her coffee. “Actually, she was way ahead of her time. She was one of the first working-at-home moms,” says Carina.
The Drenthe weather woman died in 2021 at the age of 79. Partner Henk talks candidly about the last phase of her life in the documentary. Leidi suffered from vascular dementia in the last years of her life. In that last phase, Henk did not leave her side and he took care of Leidi, so that she could continue to live at home until the last moment of her life.
“I sincerely believe that she is up there and looks back with love on a beautiful life. And that she takes good care of us and watches over us,” says daughter Carina.
In November, Leidi van der Veen was commemorated in the KRO-NCRV program Who are you lighting a candle for? This program was presented by Joris Linssen from the Roman Catholic cemetery in Zwolle. This happened during the week of All Souls’ Day, a Catholic tradition in which deceased persons are commemorated. The documentary about Leidi was then shown in a shorter form, together with a number of other reports of people who have died.
The documentary about Leidi can be seen this afternoon at 5.32 pm on TV Drenthe and will be repeated at 6.20 pm, 8.12 pm and 10.12 pm.