Daily Image
23-11-2015
Still going strong: Henk (94) and Willy (89) Sieders
| Submitter: | Jan Noordam | ||
| Description: | Henk (1921) en Willy (1926) Sieders took care of the Dwingeloo observatory for 15 years, between 1969 and 1984. During that time, the institute expanded from a single 25m dish to a row of 14, and staff quintupled to more than a hundred. Henk looked after the buildings and the grounds, and drove people and things around as far as Leiden and Bonn. If necessary, he also built buildings and furniture. Willy looked after the guest-house and mothered the guests, ranging from thin student-observers to the Great and the Good (some of them very). On one occasion in 1980, she cooked for the entire Foreign Advisors Committee plus an attentive Management Team. Despite the usual ailments they are still going strong, happily living together in Hoogeveen. As the picture shows, they remain keenly interested in the ASTRON family, and a discussion with them quickly becomes an enjoyable jaunt down memory lane. Henk is a wizard with computers, while Willy makes highly intricate figurines from impossibly tiny beads. They do not leave home very much nowadays, but if you would like to visit them (De Maaier 71) to talk about this, that and the other, you are very welcome. But you should call first (0528-230090), and not too early in the day. P.S. Sadly, we have to report that Willy passed away on 13 March 2016. Henk was very pleased with the sizeable contingent of ASTRON colleagues at the funeral. Copyright: | Madroon Community Consultants (MCC) | |
| Tweet |  |