Herman van Deursen

Herman van Deursen, age 91, of Austin, Texas passed away on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 at Longhorn Village. Herman was born on June 29,1934 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, to the late Hendrik van Deursen and Johanna Besselink.

Herman was a traveler fascinated with sailing the world and sharing this with his family. Starting in his mid-teens Herman worked on barge ships as a deckhand traveling up and down the Rhine River. This is where his love for adventure began. He moved on to working on cruise ships with Holland America Line (HAL), sailing around the world and meeting the love of his life Henny. After marrying in 1961 and the arrival of Annette they immigrated to New York in 1963. Caroline quickly followed in 1964.

Herman built his career of 50 years with Holland America Line, moving to New Jersey, Boston, Singapore, and Sydney Australia, finally ending up in Seattle Washington for 35 years. He worked as Director of Cruise Development and Marketing Manager. Herman was an adventurer – he was one of the first in the travel world to go to China in the early 1970’s to get permission to have the ships sail into China. Later in the 1980’s he went to Vladivostok, Russia when the port opened internationally and received the plans for the harbor for the cruise ships to dock.

Herman traveled the world to find new ports of call for Holland America line. One of his happiest moments was to assist Holland America Line in finding and purchasing an island in the Bahamas later called Half Moon Cay.

His greatest joy in life was his wife, two daughters, sons-in-law and of course his five grandchildren. Planning many trips and adventures for the family which included the Orinoco River, Venezuela, Caribbean, Alaska, and the Mediterranean. This does not include the countless trips to the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy to visit Annette and her family. After living in the US for over 60 years and retiring, they decided to stay in the US and moved closer to Caroline and her family in Austin Texas, where they have been for the last 9 years.

Herman is survived by his spouse, Hendrika (Henny) van Deursen; and his children, Annette and Marcel van Brakel and grandchildren Gabrielle and Koen, Kimberly and Bodi, Roberto and Kayla; and Caroline and Jos de Laat and grandchildren Elliott and Caroline, and Trevor.

A celebration of life service will be held for Herman van Deursen on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 12:00 pm at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 411 Ranch Rd 620 S, Lakeway, Texas, 78734. The link to livestream the service can be found in the service information below as soon as it is available.