Hedwig Rose Laidman

She was born on December 28, 1931 on the Island of Java, The Netherlands Indies also known as the Dutch East Indies, a colony of The Netherlands, now the Republic of Indonesia, the daughter of Louis F. and Caroline Melanie da Graca.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her son, Paul Van Kay.

"Hettie" is survived by her younger husband of 51 years, Geoff Laidman; brother, Hans Daniels and wife Colby of Broomfield, CO; her son, Michael Van Kay of Varina, VA; six grandchildren and three great grandchildren from her two families.

Her father was a sugar cane plantation manager for the Dutch East India Company and Hettie had an idyllic childhood in the rural jungle countryside of East Java until shortly after December 7, 1941 when the Netherlands declared war on Japan.

Eventually her father was sent to Burma by the Japanese as a POW and Hettie, her brother and mother were interned in Japanese camps on Jiava. In the chaos after the war ended as Indonesia struggled for independence from The Netherlands they were held in an Indonesian camp, a much more perilous situation, until finally returning to The Hague, The Netherlands in 1947.

Once back in her native country, Hettie completed her high school education in special catch up classes for war refugees and earned a degree in pharmacology. She married Robert VanKonijenburg and emigrated to America under a WWll refugee settlement provision as a pharmacist at Waynesboro Community Hospital where she stayed as a Purchasing Agent and Later Materials Manager until retirement in 1989.

During her long retirement Hettie relaxed at her summer lake place in Buggs Island Lake and liked hosting her family and friends for weekend visits. She spent many hours pontooning on the sparking water looking at houses and searching for small secluded sandy beaches along the shoreline.

Following cremation, a private celebration of life service will be held at a later date by her family.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to Hospice of the Shenandoah at Augusta Health.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Stuarts Draft Chapel of Reynolds Hamrick Funeral Homes.