My Pieter went to Heaven on April 30

 

This photo I selected for his obituary as it embodies him so perfectly!

A happy and humble man 

Pieter J.C. Vedder SCIENTIFIC PIONEER in Commercial Mushroom Cultivation and Education passed away on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at his home.

Pieter was born on april 29, 1929, in Duiven, the Netherlands during the Great Depression, the youngest son of three. He was baptized the same day in the Catholic St. Andreas Church of Groessen. There he was a member of the Church choir, from his youth on.

The war years left a deep impression on Pieter's entire life. Being evacuated and finding the house half bombed when they returned home, as well as the glass greenhouses in shards. Pieter's Dad grew peaches, plums, grapes, and tomatoes under glass.

Pieter played the accordion for the recording of a spoken letter to his two brothers who were deployed in Indonesia during the national revolution.

Training partially interrupted for his military service, from 4 October 1950 to 1 February 1952. Graduated in 1957 with university education in Wageningen, for horticulture and horticultural engineering, with excellent grades. Pieter also had a degree in teaching.

In 1957 he became assistant A of the Research Station for Mushroom Cultivation.

In 1961 he published his first publication Modern Mushroom Growing; 5 more editions followed.

In 1962 he became an instructor and head of the Education Department and was involved in the establishment of the Center for Mushroom Cultivation Education.

Pieter's Dad died on April 21, 1967, so he knew that his youngest became principal!

By 1978, his book had been translated into 5 languages and was called a unique achievement by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Directorate of Agricultural Education. Total of 9 languages now and has been called the MUSHROOM BIBLE.

Pieter was very active as a Committee Member for Youth Affairs, in the municipality of Horst.

Also, as Chairman of Youth and Nature

Member of the Board of Housing and Management, Venray–Horst region

Member of the Dean's Financial Committee of the Deanery of Horst

Member of the Diocesan Financial Commission Limburg

Pieter was a member of the Rotary Club Venray, since May 11 of 1976 and President Rotary Club Venray 1978/1979

Honorary President Rotary Club Royal Forest of Dean in U.K. 1978/1979

Rotary member Montebelluna, Italy

Rotary member Dublin, Georgia and Paul Harris Fellow 1996/1997 now Honorary member for several years.

In 1982, Pieter received the Sinden Award from the Mushroom Growers Association in the U.K.—the highest accolade in the Mushroom Industry.

Worked for Campbell Soup International as Vice President Training and Development from August 1983 to March 1989.

People to People Citizen Ambassador in March/April 1987. Pieter, being a world renown mushroom expert, got chosen for joining a group of 10, to visit Universities, lecturing and making field trips on behalf of the Mushroom Industry. His employer Campbell Soup did fully cover his expenses.

Head of the Technology Division at Fungi del Montello in Italy from 1 March 1989 to February 1990.

Dieng Djaya in Indonesia from 1 March 1990 to April 1992 and until 2001 as a consultant.

International Consultant with partner Mariette from 1992 to 2004 and only then time for our own house and garden. Pieter played the Es–trumpet and trombone while in the military. Pieter also played the organ for the Catholic Church, and he played the accordion. Music was one of his hobbies, as were photography and gardening. He also loved cycling and did so on his E–bike until April 7, 2024

In 2020, we together self–published our book 'modern mushroom growing 2020 harvesting' for print on demand worldwide. In this way, Pieter's intellect has been preserved and thousands more can benefit from it. Quite proud that it is listed in the U.K. as a university textbook.

Thus ends an intensive but very humble life, focused on Commercial Mushroom Cultivation Education and also a life of always being there for others and often pro bono. We both have always been very committed to lifting the stigma around leprosy, something Princess Diana did so intensely. A biblical disease of people who have no voice. We visited the same leprosy hospital near Jakarta, Indonesia that Princess Diana did visit and helped raise funds for those voiceless.

Pieter was a great supporter and board member of the local Heart of Georgia Community Concert Association and the Dublin Association of Fine Arts, Inc. Under his leadership and diplomacy, the two merged.

Pieter's Dad died in 1967 and his mother in 1989. Middle brother Toon in 2006 and eldest brother Thé in 2012. He has an adopted daughter Liz Vedder in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and foster daughter Anita Anggraeni in Semarang, Indonesia. His goddaughter and niece Myriam with daughters Sanne and partner with great–great niece Bobbie, Lotte and son Auke, and niece Judith (Hems) and great–niece Nienke.

His wife of over 40 years, Mariette VandenMunckhof–Vedder

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday May 10, 2024 at Dublin First Methodist Church.

Stanley Funeral Home and Crematory/Dublin Chapel has charge of the arrangements.

Related links:

May 10, 2024 Pieter J C Vedder's Memorial Service | post about Memorial Service

Our Final Easter Together | wrote my final letter to Pieter...

Silver Clock and Oak Wall Clock repaired by Pieter | earlier letter to Pieter

Pieter's Music Booklet from WWII Era | how Pieter learned to play his first accordion

Walking Through Knoxville, Tennessee

While staying at the Hyatt Place in downtown Knoxville, we were conveniently close to several parks.

So we walked from the Hyatt to the nearby Market Square.

For husband Pieter, being a longtime Rotarian since May 11, 1976 and having been President of the Dutch club in Venray over the year 1978, this was a must photograph!
Rotary's Global Polio Eradication Campaign is near to our heart.
October 24, is again World Polio Day and we know a special Rotary Friend from Jakarta, his touching story can be read below blog...

Interesting Aluminum part in large scale!

Back side..

Nature was so lovely on April 4!

We walked past the Hilton Hotel, where Pieter stayed in 1986. To the right you can also see the Knoxville Sunsphere.

Close to the World's Fair Park also...

Closeup of the blooming Redbud right on its trunk; seen in the above photo on the left.

A very special Rachmaninoff Statue

Rachmaninoff: The Last Concert By Victor Bokarov, Sculptor
In honor of Sergei Rachmaninoff's last concert's performed in Alumni Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Tennessee
February 17, 1943
Donated by
Victor Bokarov of Russia to the City of Knoxville
Erected, July 2003

Smelling the perfume of Daphne odora!
We tried this shrub once in our garden but it is too hot for it to survive...

 Closeup of these beauties!

This is Knoxville's Federal Courthouse
Beautiful architecture!

Back to our Hyatt Place and now we ride the elevator to the Rooftop!

If you wish, you can enjoy here cocktails with a spectacular view!
Seen to the right is the Federal Courthouse.

Great view and you can even see the nearby mountains...

Yes, we were also conveniently close to the Interstate, where I did continue my journey next day for visiting sweet blog-related friends Patricia & Roland, in Ohio, near Lake Erie, who had suddenly lost their eldest daughter due to surgery complications.

That day I too walked in Pieter's Footsteps from 1986 when he studied at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

We did have a very warm visit with our sweet friends, they are Catholic just like we are and we left from our Hyatt Place in Canton, OH after 2 nights and drove to the Hyatt Place in Asheville, NC.
Again a visit to dear friends in East Tennessee and next after 2 nights I started the journey back to Georgia.

Yep, I'd done 1987 miles or (of is Dutch) 3198 km...

Related posts:
Taking Husband Pieter back to Knoxville, TN in Mom & Dad's Footsteps | previous post
SO Proud of my NONAGENARIAN | previous post
{World Polio Day - Nobody's child everybody's man - Jakarta Post} | previous post
{October 24, 2012 is World Polio Day} | previous post

Pieter Hands Check to Rotary Club Ketti Valley, India

During my 4th Consulting Trip to India, together with husband Pieter, he did also visit the Ketti Valley Rotary Club for handing them a US $ 500.00 check from our own Rotary Club of Dublin, Georgia.

Here husband Pieter hands the US $ 500.00 check to the Ketti Valley Rotary President in India.

The check from our own Dublin, Georgia USA Rotary Club
Sorry, my photos are NOT good but it is what it is!

Rotary Club of Ketti Valley District 3200
They just had a meeting without any food or drinks being served.

Husband Pieter tells something about the Dublin, Georgia Rotary Club

There were chairs lined up and this is the room we met in.

Mingling and talking

President standing under Club's banner...

Me to the right talking with one of the Lady Rotary members...
Wearing my Hermès silk shawl, a gift from a mushroom friend in Switzerland.

In combination with Rotary International and The Innerwheel Club of Ketti Valley they also did FREE CLINIC by LADY DOCTORS

Such a Lady Doctor at work...

And again here, the same Lady Doctor

The US $ 500.00 check from our local Dublin, Georgia Rotary Club would get used for teaching the poorest women English...

And also teaching them to sew or to knit on machines which they later on would get to take home so they could start making their own living.

There is so much to do in countries like India...

Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:

My 4th Consulting Trip to India after HUGE Landslide | previous post by me

Husband Pieter's DANGEROUS Trip back from India | previous post by me
My 3rd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Consulting for Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 2nd trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Brindavan Gardens Mysore with Luxury Heritage Hotel | previous post by me

Lalitha Mahal and Maharaja Palace Mysore | previous post by me
Chamundeshwari Temple and Chamundi Hills in Mysuru India | previous post by me
Trip from Ooty to Mysuru through Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary | previous post by me
Wearing a Saree for ONE Day and Lending my Jeans | previous post by me
Pond's (India) Limited Mushroom Project | previous post by me
My 1st Trip to India - Consulting Together with Husband Pieter | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's ADVENTUROUS 2nd Trip to India | previous post by me showing the Qutb Minar

2017 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION will I-85 Collapsed Bridge be Repaired?

On Monday, April 17, we did drive again to Atlanta, for dropping off some more 8 mm movie film reels at Costco for conversion to DVD. You can click the pink link.
The thing is that they do not let you mail them in, nor mail them out to you, once converted. 
Guess they don't take any risk for getting precious memories lost in the mail!
So we're almost completing this project of digitizing as well.

On the way back, Pieter did take some good photos from Piedmont Road, showing the Collapsed Bridge Repair on Interstate 85 well on its way.

Since the fire destroyed the Bridge on Friday, March 31, the Marietta firm to tackle I-85 bridge’s repair worked 24/7!

GDOT estimates 10 weeks for I-85 repair after collapse

Just click on pink links...

The estimate is for June 15 but another HUGE traffic input will be on June 10-14 for the Rotary INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION in Atlanta!

So we have to keep our fingers crossed that it might be possible to finish in time for that.

Here you can see the activity of the repair.

On the car's GPS you clearly see the Interstate lines...

Wishing those workers Godspeed and may all go well, as planned!
C.W. Matthews Contracting Company Inc. managed to complete this in only 44 days; click to also view the video in time lapse!

Thank you for your visit!

Related link:

Spaghetti Junction in Atlanta, Georgia - Worst Truck Bottleneck in America | previous post with info about collapse of bridge.
I-85 northbound lanes reopen | WOW, on May 13 they opened up! Only 6 weeks later... ahead of schedule!!! Southbound lanes also to be opened this weekend, before Monday.

{October 24, 2012 is World Polio Day}

October 24, 2012 is again World Polio Day ←(click it). In our lives there have been three persons we worked with, that had Polio.

Our boss in Italy had Polio as a young boy, but he grew out of it and managed a normal life. 

In Mernda, Victoria in Australia at one of the Campbell Soup mushroom plants, I worked with Tony, the harvest manager, in June of 1988 and he walked still on crutches, however FAST! It amazed me how driven this young man was and he had a great work ethic, despite him having had polio and never completely getting out of it. I certainly did admire his dedication.

Let me now introduce you again to John H.G. Soe from Jakarta, Indonesia with his incredible Polio related story... ‘Nobody’s child, everybody’s man’ as published in the Jakarta Post ←(click it). You will find the link of last year's blog-post about him, below this post. You also can click on the hyperlink above, but if you need to use a translator, that will not work... so for that you better read my post below.

http://www.endpolio.org/
Both of us are proud of what Rotary has done so far.
Husband Pieter is a Rotarian since 36 years and he was the President of the Dutch Rotary Club of Venray, in 1978.

Do you have anyone that suffered Polio?

Related clickable links:
{World Polio Day - Nobody's child everybody's man - Jakarta Post} | my post about Polio, 2011
Polio Eradication
Polio survivors share a wealth of insight  | interesting insights from the above mentioned friend...

{Like Princess Diana, I also Tried to Tackle the Leprosy Stigma} | post about how John H G Soe has been helpful in obtaining a Grant from Rotary International for helping Leprosy victims.

{World Polio Day - Nobody's child everybody's man - Jakarta Post}

Today is World Polio Day and that is special for sharing with you. 'End Polio Now' by Rotary International, as they intend to eradicate it from the earth!

In our lives, there are three persons we've worked with that had Polio.

Our boss in Italy had Polio as a young boy, but he grew out of it and managed a normal life. In Mernda, Victoria in Australia at one of the Campbell Soup mushroom plants, I worked with Tony, the harvest manager, in June of 1988 and he walked still on crutches, however FAST! It amazed me how driven this young man was and he had a great work ethic, despite him having had polio and never completely getting out of it. I certainly did admire his dedication.

Let me now introduce you to John H.G. Soe from Jakarta, with his incredible Polio related story... 'Nobody's child, everybody's man' as published in the The Jakarta Post ←(click it). Complete text will also follow below, so other countries can use the translate tool, to be found above at this blog. You can select from the drop-down window your language choice.

We got to know John H.G. Soe on August 08, 2008 via Plaxo, when we found his profile and he was also a member of the Jakarta Sentral Rotary Club. So he reacted with his first message which started our special friendship.

This energetic Rotarian has moved mountains on behalf of the poorest of the poor, the victims of Leprosy. Will tell more about that later... He also did design, FREE of charge the new Rotary International District 3400-Dormitory and a Health Center for the TSUNAMI victims in Aceh, Indonesia.

~~~0~~~

Here follows last year's Birthday Wish from John H G Soe:

My Birthday Wish is in honor of my beloved father, Ted de Ponti, who exposed me to Rotary Clubs

The Son from the Orphanage

It was in 1973, a bachelor Singapore businessman, Ted de Ponti said to a Dutch nun, a friend from his hometown in The Netherlands that he wanted to adopt a son. He asked her to look for a suitable child – one who needed help, but who had “potential”. “One who has gray matter, so that he can study.” Ted said: “I want him to be someone".

Crippled by polio

The Dutch nun told him about a deserving case. A fourteen-year-old boy who was crippled by polio; hardly able to walk, his legs distorted and bent like a bow by the disease. Yet he was sweet-natured and courageous, and did well in school, struggling in his childish way to overcome his handicap.

It was Sunday – June 1973. The boy had been waiting since early morning. The nuns he lived with, had told him that a kind “uncle” would be coming to meet him, to adopt him. He put on his best clothes – the worn garments which were donated to the nuns, but clean and carefully mended. He dragged himself to the parlour where visitors were received. He waited, full of childish hope and faith.

The convent was the only home he could remember. He had been brought there as an infant, struck by a crippling disease, polio, at a tender age of 9 months. And over to superstitions on the part of his parents, he was abandoned and taken care of by a Roman Catholic Orphanage in Medan. He grew up in the Convent, listening to the silence and the prayers, and the sound of the bells.

He had never been cuddled or carried on someone’s lap. He had never known his parents, but only the gentle kindness of the nuns. He was starving for the warmth of family love.

A local surgeon examined his legs. Then told him that an operation could be done, to straighten his leg so that he would be able to walk.

One day the boy boarded a plane to fly to the big city of Singapore, for the operation.

Through the kindness of a few organizations like The Rotary Club of Singapore West and The Rotary Club of Zevenaar – The Netherlands, his airfare got paid and they also sponsored his 9 months stay in the Singapore hospital

At first he was frightened and lonely in the ward at the Mount Alvernia Hospital. He felt reassured when he saw the nuns there, just like the nuns who had brought him up. He had four operations on his legs for the durations of a 9 months stay at the hospital.

The hospital and the eminent surgeon, DR.V K Pillay, who did the operations, impressed by Ted’s generosity, and never charged for the services rendered to the Indonesian boy.

With love & care… and a feeling that from that day on, he would be loved and cared for by someone to whom he was very special.

”Ted gave me confidence and love. He changed everything in my life".

The shy, sheltered child from the Convent had become a confident young man.
 

~~~0~~~

 

Below follows the complete text from the Jakarta Post:

 

Some blame their parents for their misfortunes, others blame God. But John H.G. Soe has never blamed anyone for mistreating him, or for the polio that shaped his life.

It was because of this polio that his parents abandoned him at a hospital in Medan when he was four months old. The nurses took care of him for a few years, before sending him to a Catholic orphanage in the same city.

But when he was in the third grade, renovations to the dormitory meant families had to take the children home. No one came for John, who was then called “Kong”; he was nobody’s child.

“Not only that day, but every school holiday, other children were picked up by their family, but nobody ever asked me even to go outside the orphanage’s dormitory…”, John told The Jakarta Post.

A nun found his parents, but his mother rejected him, but the nuns couldn’t take him back because of the renovations.

“I was crying because I felt more comfortable with the nuns. I had no feelings whatsoever for my parents.”

He spent “a very bitter week” with his family. They kept him in the small backyard and he was not allowed to play with his sisters and brothers. He slept on the floor where the others had beds, and was fed differently.

“I was given rice and a bit of vegetables while my brothers and sisters got chicken or duck,” John recalled. He also remembers an occasion when he was dragged to the back of the house when a guest asked who he was.

After 10 days, his brother took him back to the orphanage. The nuns, shocked at his condition, never sent him back to his parents again.

In 1973, Dutch-Italian businessman Ted de Ponti, a Singapore-based Rotarian and former Red Cross volunteer, visiting one of the nuns at the orphanage, said he wanted to adopt an orphan who was “really abandoned but academically bright”.

“I want him to be someone,” he said.

The obvious choice was the boy who was crippled by polio, a boy who had never had anyone visit him, but was so clever he could repair his friend’s broken radio. “I remember it was Sunday June 13th. The nuns said ‘an uncle’ would come and meet me to adopt me.”

John put on his best clothes and dragged himself to the parlor to wait. “I felt so happy when he hugged me. He took me to the shop to buy me my first new clothes ever and a Timex watch, and held a dinner at a restaurant where he introduced me as his son to his friends.”

De Ponti covered all the boy’s expenses and visited him regularly, before arranging for John to be taken to Singapore for surgery.

When the nuns got papers from John’s parents for the passport, he finally learned his birthday — June 17, 1959 — the names of his parents and his eight siblings, and his own birth name: Soe Hian Ghe.

In December 1973, De Ponti brought the boy to Singapore. The Rotary Club had decided to pay for the operations and Rotarians in Zevennar, the Netherlands, sponsored the trip.

He underwent four operations; after eight months in the hospital, his right leg, which was bent like a bow, began to improve. His ankles started to function, and now he can even drive a car.

After the first operation, The Strait Times ran a story about him, including a picture of him munching chocolates. The chocolate company, pleased with the free advertising, sent him dozens of boxes of chocolates, which he sent to his friends in the orphanage in Medan.

Everything was done at no cost — even Singapore Airlines provided a return trip for free. The money Rotary had committed for his operations now went to his education.

A month after the final operation, John returned to school in Medan. As he was 14 years old and had a disability, only a girl’s school would accept him. “Only two of us were boys, we both had polio.”

He later studied architecture in Singapore and interior design in London. He planned to return to Singapore but because of the 1985 economic crisis, his foster father advised him to go to Jakarta instead.

The first thing he did was to look up his family, who had moved to the Indonesian capital. His mother was still cold to him. “I told them that I only wanted to make a family bond and had no intention of making them feel bad.”

A year later, his family asked for forgiveness. John felt the request was unnecessary. “The past is the past, let’s look to the future,” he said.

John soon began his career in an architecture firm, and within five years had set up his own architecture and interior design company, which he still runs.

He married in 1988 and has two children. Ted de Ponti died in 1990, two month after John’s first child was born.

“I still remember he was very happy when my son was born. My son was like a first grandson to him,” John said. “Ted gave me confidence and love. He changed everything in my life.”

Because of the help Rotary gave him, John wanted to become a Rotarian, a dream realized when a client recommended him for membership in 2003.

Since he was indicted in 2004, he has held several important positions, including club secretary and club president; he is now the assistant governor for the Jakarta region.

He was been active in Rotary’s fight against polio, especially during the joint Rotary–Health Ministry campaign for the national immunization program in 2005 and 2006.

Looking back, John has no regrets or bitterness.

“I always think there is always someone who is experiencing something worse than me,” he said. “Everything is a blessing in disguise. I wouldn’t be what I am today if my parents did not leave me at that hospital.”

Related clickable links:
{Like Princess Diana, I also Tried to Tackle the Leprosy Stigma} | Mentioning John H.G. Soe in his help for obtaining Rotary International Grant to help Leprosy victims
{October 24, 2012 is World Polio Day} | post by me
Polio survivors share a wealth of insight | interesting insights from the above mentioned friend...