Dozens of motorcyclists and motorists in Valkenswaard said goodbye to Jack Rombouts (64) on Sunday afternoon. He suffers from cancer and cannot be cured. His friends and members of the American Bike Club organized a farewell where they all rode in a procession to his house. “Everyone knows him as Fat Jack, but he is not fat anymore. He has lost twenty kilos in recent weeks.”
A last hug and a last kiss for his comrades and motorcycle friends, because the terminal Jack Rombouts will soon be gone. “That is also the reason we are having his farewell today,” says his cousin Coos Claes. “We only settled this three days ago because Jack is deteriorating so much.”
It’s all part of his illness. In January it was discovered that Rombouts has cancer and that he can no longer be cured. “We were at his house on New Year’s Eve and he was already having so much trouble with his back. A little later in the hospital it turned out to be cancer and that was a bit of a shock. He was going to turn 65 this summer, but that’s okay.” unfortunately he can’t make it anymore,” said Claes.
“Jack stopped every car and motorcycle and had a chat with everyone.”
At around noon on the Markt in Valkenswaard, dozens of motorcycles and cars were ready to go to Jack’s house to pay his last respects. “It was very emotional. Jack always goes to meetings of the American Bike Club in the Netherlands and Belgium and today they were all there for him,” Claes explains. “Everyone knows him as Fat Jack, only he is not fat anymore.”
The tour was supposed to end after Jack’s house in the Café de Bel in Valkenswaard, although he did not make it there. “Jack was so enthusiastic and stopped every car and motorcycle to have a chat. Jack was really devastated at the end,” his cousin said. “Unfortunately he didn’t make it to the café anymore.”
A worthy farewell and Jack himself is also at peace with it. “It is what it is,” he said to his cousin Coos. “He also knows that his end is coming. And that he will end his life in a few weeks,” Coos adds.
