He was born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on September 23, 1932 to Germen Arie and Johanna Maria Souverein and his life was shaped by the devastations he experienced in World War II.
Hendrik served 2 years in the Dutch Army before immigrating to the United States in 1954. He found his first job in a chemical plant in Haledon, NJ which would later become a BASF Corporation division and worked there for his entire 36 year career. Twelve of those years, Hendrik attended night school at Seton Hall University to earn a degree in Chemistry and then an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
He met his future wife, Cornelia Blok, in a dance lesson studio in Rotterdam. Corry immigrated to Canada while Hendrik fulfilled his military service. He reconnected after immigrating with the love of his life, writing frequent letters and driving many weekends from New Jersey to meet Corry at Niagara Falls, NY. They would marry on September 1st, 1956.
Together they raised their two sons, Arthur and Gary in Ringwood, NJ. Their love of adventure and outdoor activities took them camping almost every weekend, even in the winter, so they could enjoy their favorite sport together, downhill skiing.
In summers, when the chemical plant would close for 3 weeks, Hendrik would pile his family in their car and head west, exploring the mid and northwestern parts of the US but the Rocky Mountains were always their favorite.
While living in Ringwood, Hendrik spent 10 years as the voluntary director of the community’s youth soccer program. He spent countless hours lining soccer fields, hanging nets, constructing goalposts, organizing team’s uniforms, refereeing, leading dozens of volunteer coaches and coaching countless youth team’s himself. Hendrik loved youth sports in addition supporting his own sons’ sports passions.
In 1992, Hendrik made “one of the best decisions of my life” and retired at age 59 to move to Fort Collins, CO. There he and Corry’s passion for cycling got them involved in helping the city determine where bicycle paths were needed to develop the bicycle path system the city has today. During their retirement, they traveled all over the west enjoying long road trips and always tent camping along the way. They remained active for many years and participated in the Senior Games winning medals in speed skating, cross country skiing, biking and more.
One of the biggest joys in Hendrik’s life were his grandsons. He loved spending time with them, building countless toys out of wood, teaching them how to play soccer and taking them to the park. His love and influence will impact future generations to come.
Hendrik was an amazing man and dedicated husband, father and grandfather. He will be deeply missed by his sons, Arthur and Gary; their wives, Jackie and Tracey; his grandsons Erik, James, Jonathan, Joseph, Jarred, Marshal and Tanner as well as his sister Carla and all his extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents, his loving wife and his baby daughter lost at birth.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, October 11, 2019 at Allnutt Funeral Services, Drake Road Chapel, Fort Collins at 11 o’clock a.m.
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