Bernardus "Berry" Schendstok

He was born on July 24th 1938 in the Hospital of the Lago Colony, [Seroe Colorado], Aruba, at the time part of the Netherlands West Indies, to Johan (Jo) Schendstok and Francina (Fransje) Maessen.

Berry was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Dick, and Leo Benne, the partner of his sister Elzien. He is survived by his sister Elzien, his brother Hans and wife Gaby, his brother Henk, his nieces Carlijn and Sabine, his nephew Bobby, their families, all in the Netherlands, and other relatives in Belgium, Canada and the United States.

His mother and father had met at a hospital in Amsterdam where they both worked, Jo as an assistant internist and Fransje as a nurse. A forbidden love affair: the strict rules of the hospital forbade relationships between doctors and nurses. True love goes beyond rules, and they got married in June 1937. Fransje got pregnant, and during his work as general practitioner in Amsterdam Jo was sought after by a headhunter, who offered him a job as head Internal Medicine of the Lago Hospital of the Standard Oil Company in Aruba. The story goes that Fransje accepted the offer, as Jo was away at work.

They moved to Aruba that same year, 1937.

Berry was born in Aruba in 1938.

Because of World War 2 in Europe Jo and Fransje overstayed Jo’s contract, and Berry’s sister Elzien (1940), and brothers Hans (1943), Dick (1945) and Henk (1948) were all born in Aruba. All children followed the same education pattern mom Fransje had designed: four years of elementary education at the American school in Lago Colony, two years of Dutch education in San Nicolas, and then all children went to the Netherlands to an intern boarding school for our secondary school education to get ready for their future.

Berry moved to The Netherlands, where he received his High School education at a boarding school in Nijmegen.

After graduation he continued his studies at the ECL Hospitality Business & Hotel Management School in Lausanne, Switzerland. Where he received his BA Hospitality Services.

Berry started his career in The Hague in Holland as an assistant manager of a top restaurant. Soon he followed his roots back to Aruba, where he became the manager of the Lago Esso Club and after that of the restaurant "De Olde Molen" (The Old Mill)’ in Oranjestad.

Our parents emigrated as pensionados back to the Netherlands; Berry felt it was time to move ahead.

He decided to continue his career in the United States and became (assistant) manager of hotels and restaurants at first in Washington D.C. He was also manager of a condominium for retired Marine officers. Later in life he worked for the US Immigration and Naturalization service.

Berry settled in Houston, Texas, which became his beloved hometown as a U.S. resident/citizen and where he built lasting friendships and relationships.

Berry was a member of Dignity Houston Roman Catholic Gays, The Holland Club of Houston and a decades long member of Asians and Friends Houston; where he served as a board member for several years.

Berry visited his family in Holland occasionally, and it was always a joy to see him and to realize that our family bond was not diminished, despite the geographical distance.

Berry was meticulous and disciplined in his work, and had a busy social life.

He had extensive general knowledge, was a lover of art, literature, history and music, especially opera. He loved pranks and banter, and was an eloquent speaker in several languages, which he was rightly proud of.

In his later life his dear friendships proved to have established a strong and lasting bond. Not wanting to forget other acquaintances, we wish to mention his dear friends Scott McKie, Chris Zoch, Romeo Crisologo and Henry Ho, who visited and coached Berry at the Treemont Health Center in his later years. They were there regularly, at festive days such as Christmas, Easter and at his birthdays, and they kept us in Holland informed of Berry’s condition.

A special thank you to Reverend Clint Brown who along with Scott would celebrate holy communion with Berry the first Wednesday of the month.

Their commitment for Berry until his last moments are proof of their love, and we, Berry's siblings, are deeply indebted to them.

Needless to say, we siblings also owe many thanks to the employees of the Treemont Retirement Community and Vantage Hospice nurses for their professional care and commitment.

Our Eldest Brother, our Big Brother, our big uncle has sadly passed away.

Although in distance he and we were far apart, in our family bond we stayed together: there was no distance.

Elzien, Hans and Gaby, Henk

Carlijn, Bob, Sabine

A funeral service for Berry will be held Saturday, June 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM in the Hunters Creek Chapel at Earthman Funeral Directors, 8303 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77024. Following the funeral service will be a reception immediately following in the Event Room at Earthman Funeral Directors.

In lieu of flowers please donate in the memory of Berry‘s brother Dick to the Michigan Area 24 Special Olympics. A donation box will be available.