Eileen Freda Barnes Sondervorst

Binnie was born in Lincoln, England in 1924 and was preceded in death by her beloved husband Marcel after 51 happy years of marriage. She was also predeceased by her parents George Barnes and Norah Barker Barnes, as well as her brother Brian Barnes and sister Bernice Barnes Longlands.

Binnie trained as a nurse and midwife during World War II in London hospitals. She worked in and lived the hospital life until her marriage to Dr. Marcel Sondervorst in 1952. After her marriage she and her husband lived in the then Belgian Congo where Marcel practiced medicine for the Belgian Colonial Medical Service until 1962. They subsequently lived in Brussels, Belgium, Holland, St. John’s, Newfoundland and New Jersey. They came to Richmond, Virginia in 1976.

Binnie studied the Bible in London with Jehovah’s Witnesses and was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1951. She was a faithful servant of Jehovah for over fifty years, confident that loved ones and she herself, if she should die before the advent of God’s new world, would be resurrected by her loving heavenly Father.

Binnie was a fabulous cook and she and Marcel were well known for their generous hospitality. Binnie loved people and they returned her love in kind. There were wonderful stories about their life in Africa such as the time they had to wait for a herd of elephants to clear out of the way before they could make their way home from the movies.

Binnie is survived by five nieces and nephews in England: Susan Craft, Kate Dickens, David Barnes, Jeremy Barnes and Julian Barnes, and one niece in Belgium, Dr. Anne Holoye, two beloved sisters-in-law, Marie Theresa Holoye-Sondervorst of Belgium and Bertha Sondervorst of Canada, treasured friends Willy and Frieda Gournon, as well as a host of friends too numerous to count.

A commemoration of Binnie’s life will be held on Saturday, October 17th, 2026, at 2 p.m. at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 5550 Courthouse Road, Chesterfield, Virginia 23832.

Sincere thanks to the health aides of Personalized Private Care for their efforts to give Binnie consistent loving care in the twilight of her life.