1/2 Sjaak on stage in front of the village hall in Reek during his hundredth birthday (photo: Ton Cruijsen).
Last year, the whole of Reek was still out when Sjaak van Tilburg turned 100 years old, but now the village has to miss its oldest resident. Three weeks before his birthday, Sjaak passed away in the night from Wednesday to Thursday. “If there was something to do in Reek, Sjaak was there.”
Sjaak was one of the seventeen hundred inhabitants of Reek. Everyone in the village knew Jack, and Jack knew everyone. “He participated in everything in the village,” says historian and local photographer Ton Cruijsen. “He participated in shuffleboard, ate in the village hall every week, was a regular guest in the meeting center and he was a volunteer at the repair café.”
Hundred-year-old Sjaak had problems with his hearing, but his little fingers were still good. Despite his advanced age, Sjaak simply lived independently. A while ago he received a tree as a gift in honor of his 100th birthday. “Fortunately, he was able to experience that,” says Cruijsen.
He photographed his fellow villager countless times. “I saw him on Tuesday. He was there until the last,” says Cruijsen. “Sjaak was a warm person and always friendly and grateful.”
Scarf in front
Sjaak was highly regarded by his fellow villagers. He was the guest of honor at the opening of the Aldi a year and a half ago. He was then driven on a cart to the new supermarket and had the day of his life.
He had an even bigger smile on his face when he celebrated his 100th birthday last May. The marching band walked through the decorated streets, the mayor gave a speech and the whole village came before him. “It’s nice when you get that old,” Sjaak said at the time.
Repair clothes
Everywhere he was neatly dressed. Because Sjaak came from the Van Tilburg family of tailors. Like his brothers and sister, he followed his father’s footsteps and set up his own clothing store in Reek.
The store closed in 1984, but Sjaak never stopped repairing clothes. He was there for anyone in the area who needed a new zipper or button. “He personally picked up a broken pair of trousers and after repairing it, he also delivered it himself,” says Cruijsen.
Gym in the sports hall
Until he was 82, Sjaak blew a cheerful tune on his tuba at the brass band. He was a regular guest at the activities of the Elderly Association. And after he invited him to join the gym club, he was in the sports hall every week. He was the eldest, but still participated in everything. “I’m just tired faster, but that’s allowed at my age,” he said earlier at Omroep Brabant.
On May 26, Sjaak would have turned 101. “He was working on that all year round. He still wanted to add another year,” concludes Cruijsen.
Sjaak was brought to the new supermarket in Reek as a guest of honor in 2021.