A remarkable obituary in the Noordhollands Dagblad today. In it, Kees van der Werdt describes how his father of the same name died. In the sun on his beloved Hoorns terrace, while drinking a beer.
“An icon of Horns is no more”, the son begins his text. “On Sunday, June 11 at 5.30 pm, my father died at the age of 82. Sitting in the sun on the terrace of café ‘t Flessie, he took his last sip of beer and had a massive heart attack. Resuscitation proved to be of no help.”
Kees van der Werdt was a striking Horinean, a familiar face. And as fellow townsman Ko Boos described it beautifully on Facebook in his memorial: “Hoorn’s living painting has once again had to reveal a color tint.”
‘He was just sitting here at the table when it went wrong’
It is not possible to get in touch with son Kees junior. At café ‘t Flessie aan Dubbel Buurt, where he was known as ‘uncle Kees’, it is still the talk of the day. The café has just opened when we meet owner Marina Koning and her colleagues. “He was sitting here at the table and we had just put down a beer when it went wrong.”
The man sank away and the alarm was immediately raised. “Tables were overturned and Kees was laid on the ground. There were many emergency services in the area because of the Hoornse Stadsfeesten. People soon came to resuscitate him and a defibrillator was also quickly there.
Then the ambulance staff took over, but it was to no avail,” said the pub owner. “He had been with friends just before to have a drink. He wouldn’t actually come again, because he wasn’t feeling well. Still, in the end, something drove him to the café.”
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Uncle Kees was a welcome guest at ‘t Flessie. A little cocky, but full of humour. “And a real club man. Football association Hollandia was everything to him,” says Koning. He could often be found there, did a lot, and was too merit member. It says enough that the memorial service will be held on July 19 in the canteen of the football club.
Afraid to die alone
The café owner explains that Kees’s wife had died just before. “Only eight weeks ago. As a caregiver, he took care of her for a while.” She continues: “He also said he was afraid to die alone. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.”
Because no matter how sad, if you have to go, a sunny terrace and a nice drink is a nice place for a bon vivant like Kees van der Werdt. “The ambulance staff also said that Kees did not notice anything. We are happy about that, although we will miss him.”