Sorry to see the news and only just found out via the internet. Shame he did not make 100 ads he said he wished when llast saw him with Hedley in 2011

Cindy and Daniel, Sorry Henk has passed on.  I had known Henk since the 1980's and always found him to be a resourceful, funny and wonderful gentleman to know.

Hard to beleive that the indominable, unflappable Henk has moved on. He will be sorely missed. Too many stories and memories to share here but Henk was always the calm in the storm, except of course when he was cursing in Dutch. Love you.

So sorry for your loss of Henk. We've never lived on the block without seeing him out and about in the yard. He will be missed, not only by the neighborhood, but also by all the feral critters who loved him so.

Whenever I see a sunflower, I think of Henk.

I knew Henk for forty years.  He and Lathrope always welcomed Cindy's friends to their home.  I recollect the smell of his pipe and the sound of his laughter.  Nothing ever fazed him! He will be missed.

We will miss you Henk: 

 Hendrik “Henk” Voorspuy, 94, of New Brighton, who served with the Allies in the Dutch Merchant Marine throughout World War II, built a vacation log cabin by hand, helped to found the Staten Island Geological Society, planted sunflowers throughout St. George, Tompkinsville and New Brighton, and loved animals both domestic and wild, died February 23rd of pneumonia in Eger Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, Egbertville, following admission for short term rehabilitation. 
  He was born on a family run cattle breeding farm in Groot Ammers, The Netherlands.  His family then moved to Gorinchem, where they ran a small hotel. He graduated from the Royal Dutch Naval College in Amsterdam, and started his shipping career with the Holland America Line. Before the War, he was a navigation officer on the company's flagship liner “Nieuw Amsterdam”, sailing on transatlantic crossings and Caribbean cruises. During the War he made numerous North Atlantic convoy crossings from New York to England. In 1942 his freighter, the “Breedyk,” was torpedoed by a German U-Boat in the South Atlantic, after which he spent eight days in a lifeboat before being rescued by a British destroyer. After being picked up by the destroyer he was taken to Freetown, Sierra Leone where he was debriefed by British Naval Intelligence. He was on the second commercial vessel to enter Rotterdam Harbor after the liberation of the Netherlands by the Allies in 1945.  
  He met his future wife, Lathrope Baker of Atlanta, in Greenwich Village at a popular tavern of the time. They married in 1945, and he emigrated to the U.S. in 1946. He often referred to himself as a “War Groom.” For a period they operated an antique store in Greenwich Village, The Best Cellar. This venture was not a commercial success; however they made many lifelong friends at their store - as they invited their customers in for some Southern hospitality topped off with a Dutch treat. The couple then settled in what is now SoHo. He then commenced a career in the import and export trade, and later moved into international banking, principally working for the Bank of New York, from which he retired in 1989.  During the 1950's he and his wife built a vacation log cabin by hand in rural Morris County, NJ.  They felled standing chestnut trees, which had been killed by the Great Chestnut Blight, to build their cabin. Their daughter Cindy was born in 1959. 
  Mr. Voorspuy and his family moved to Staten Island in 1970 settling in a large Victorian home in New Brighton. Moving day featured the family transporting six cats in carriers on the Staten Island Ferry. 
  He was one of the founders of the Staten Island Geological Society in 1971, and enjoyed collecting rocks and minerals from around the region. He was a life-long avid stamp collector, and made costume jewelry with his wife from the stones he collected and polished. The family's house was always full of cats and dogs. He had a way with animals.
  He was a constant organic gardener throughout his life, but in his later years he took to planting sunflowers yearly around St. George, especially on the medians of Bay Street and Richmond Terrace approaching the St. George Ferry Terminal.  He was given civic recognition and awards for his plantings. Tens of thousands of Staten Islanders over the years have enjoyed his sunflower plantings while driving to the Ferry terminal.
  During their retirement years, Mr. Voorspuy and his wife divided their year between Staten Island and their vacation home in Charlotteville, NY just north of the Catskill Mountains. They passed their time there walking and driving through the hills, watching their wood stove, gardening and visiting with the many friends they made in the area.
  Surviving Mr. Voorspuy, along with his daughter and her partner Daniel Kusrow, are his sisters Gerry Metzler, Jopie Greidanus and Artie Voorspuy of the Netherlands. He was predeceased by his wife, brother Koos Voorspuy and sister Corry Voorspuy of the Netherlands and sister Rieny Ulbaek Hansen of Denmark.

OBITUARY

Hendrik Voorspuy

Harmon Funeral Home

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