Berdina (Diny) van Yperen

Berdina van Yperen, age 78, wife of Nicolaas van Yperen since 1956 of Old Saybrook, CT passed away with her family by her side on October 15th, 2014. She was born on March 19, 1936 in Delft, Holland. She met Nicolaas in Apeldoorn at a campground in 1953. It was love at first sight. They were married in November of 1956 and immigrated to Maine in 1959 where they began their family. In 1964 they moved to CT and established the House of Rubens Art Gallery. She was an amazing sales woman. Diny was a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother to her own family and many others. She is survived by her husband, two sons, their wives and nine grandchildren. She will surely be missed. A memorial service will begin at 12 pm on Friday the 24th of October at Living Rock Church, 138 Rt 81, Killingworth, CT 06419. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Berdina's name may be made to: Middlesex Hospital Hospice & Palliative Care.

First we want to thank The Lord for His immeasurable kindness and mercy shown to our family over these past few years and especially this past week. Berdina van Yperen went home peacefully late last Wednesday night. She was an amazing woman. She lived a full life with so much courage. She began her life in her beloved Holland where, at the age of six, she endured the German occupation and the years of hunger during WWII. As a young bride she left her family and followed her husband to America in 1959. They had with them one chest and a few hundred dollars to their name. In 1964 they moved to CT and established the House of Rubens Art Gallery. Alongside Nicolaas, she forged a life for her family in a foreign country without knowing the language and missing her own mother terribly. To know her life was to see courage, strength and love abounding. Wherever she went she drew children to her with the ability to play and laugh no matter what. She leaves behind her husband, two sons and their