Marleen
09/03/21 10:00
Marleen with her best mate and running partner Jackie - 35th BruH3 anniversary (note the matching leggings bought on the Girls Weekend in Lisbon)
She was Flemish and flame-haired and freckled, a force of nature, handy with
a car or electric wiring, a demanding paymaster, a dutiful and loving
godmother, J's bosom pal, tasteful in dress and decor and music, gifted of
a simple, silly sense of humour, lingual (but they all are), generous to a
fault, a genius with outsiders of any description, giggly, able to hold her
drink - bro happily recalls getting smashed with her while competing for
good songs on Spotify - , robustly commonsensical with a very Belgian feel
for what a house should cost, a nuanced Anglophile, a bon viveur, a fun
seeker, a hard worker in the flexible Flemish style, an intrepid traveller
solo or in groups, kind beyond belief, straight as a die, and no mean skier.
And now she has gone and taken all that with her.
Hugh D.
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Marleen asked me if I could say a few words at her funeral. A eulogy she called it and I am more than happy to do that. She also asked me to pass on two messages from her. Eulogy first and let us leave the last words to Marleen.
First an observation - Marleen was a genius at including outsiders. At a social occasion someone was new and shy and being ignored. Nobody knew who he was, or what he was called, or why he was there. Call him John. Marleen would be telling a story (she had an endearing habit talking about herself in the third person). "So Mahleen is driving up to Antwerp on the old A12 at 150 k's an hour. What does Mahleen see out her rear-view mirror? A cop car with its lights flashing.' Marleen then would suddenly turn to John and say - "And you know what happened next, eh John?" I totally loved that about her.
Second a short story which sums her up. Jackie and Gabriella and I were on holiday in the south of Spain. It was the time that Iceland exploded and threw volcanic ash up into the atmosphere. All the flights were instantly cancelled. And the French railways, seeing half a million Brits stuck in Spain and sensing a commercial opportunity, promptly went on strike. Getting home was problematic.
Jackie was going frantic. She had an important work meeting on the next Monday. Calling Marleen she mentioned her dilemma. Half an hour later Marleen calls back. "We can do this!" (We?) "No problem. I've checked the trains. You can get from Alicante to Gerona and I'll be there at the station at 5.30 Friday". And she was. 14 hours solid drive down France, picked us up at the station on time and turned back north. We co-drove home stopping for a few hour sleep in a motorway hotel. And we had a lot of fun and laughter on the way up.
I know of no better eulogy to her character, her determination, her love of adventure and travel, her capacity to organise a project, her sense of fun, her generosity and - above all - her gift for friendship.
Her message to you, and to all her many friends and family who cannot be here because of covid or distance, was two fold 1 we need to express our love for each other more. More hugs, more openness, more kindness. And 2 the last three years, despite the chemo, the pain, the worry were worth it. Because of the many wonderful trips, of course.
But mostly because of the love.
Good bye old friend.
Hugh D.
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Sunday 21 Feb 2021
Marleen sends her greetings and asked us to tell you all that she has stopped chemo, is out of hospital, is very weak, and is being cared for by her family. She asks that you please not ring her up as she simply does not have the strength to talk to people at the moment. Her love for the hash community shone through clear as day.
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Send Marleen our Greetings. Tell her to hang in there. We’re all behind her with the same message. Alma and David
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Monday 01 March2021
It is with a heavy, heavy heart that I must inform you that Marleen passed away this afternoon. She spent her last full day on her balcony in unseasonable sun and was visited by Leo.
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Thank you Hugh for conveying indeed, this very sad news. Marleen fought this dreaded disease until the last moment, and is an inspiration to us all to always go that extra mile (literally in Marleen's case, in her desire to cycle the whole length of the north sea coastline) in order to enjoy life. Her memory will always be with me.
Chris
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Very, very sad news. Thanks for passing on the information, Hugh.
Lin
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Very very sad news. So many good memories and she faced her illness with incredible courage. She will be much missed. Harriet
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If you have Marleen’s family contact details please send them my/our condolences. I have so many lovely memories of her. Jill Clarkson
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Dear Jonathan, dear friends Beste vrienden en familie van Marleen
Met grote droefheid vernam ik dit zeer slechte nieuws dat Marleen ons verlaten heeft.
Ik wil iedereen die haar kende en haar pad bewandeld heeft, een warm hart toedragen. En ook vraag ik alleen maar terug te denken aan de mooie herinneringen met Marleen en aan al het moois dat het leven haar heeft gegeven.
Ik zal haar blijvend herinneren en leef met jullie mee.
Jan Sebille
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In a group that had many characters, Marleen was one of the originals. Was she the first Vlaming in the Brussels HHH? She was an indefatigable runner and a great connaisseur of the après. It was characteristic of her to fight her dreadful illness with admirable courage and fortitude. She will be missed by all. On on, Marleen.
Julian Joshua
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How terribly sad. Although I am not a regular of the Hash these days I have extremely good and warm memories of Marleen when she took me under her running wing when I was a newcomer to Brussels all those years ago. Many a kilometer was pounded as we prepared for the 20km. Ruth
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Very sad news! She will be greatly missed. I do hope we can convey our condolences to her family. Caroline
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Dear Hash House Harriers,
This is indeed sad news to hear of Marleen’s death. She will be remembered most warmly for her kindness, her get up and go attitude and her determination- in particular her determination to fight the illness that eventually got the better of her. You will be sorely missed, Marleen, may you rest in peace.
Peter C.
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If you want to write to the family please do so. (I rashly promised them an avalanche!) Use familievwm@gmail.com and If u wish it to be a little bit more friendly write to Rikkie, Johan and Annamarie, her siblings. They are already taken aback by the outpouring of feelings and friendship - so keep up the good work! I committed to Marleen - the idea appealed to her - that as soon as this slough of despond banishes itself we will have a party in her honour. I have also committed to myself, and now to you, that the lead libation will be not some Luxembourg B-lister but a A list champagne. As Kris Kristoffersen had it - For the good times!
Hugh D.
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I was so sad to hear that Marleen lost her fight to her illness. What an amazing memory we will all have of Marleen. Her pluckiness, courage, kindness, friendship and willing to go that extra mile for others. She made life fun. Gösta & I were in touch with her quite a bit last summer before the Swedish leg of her cycling trip, giving the relevant Swedish pandemic info & putting her in touch with old friends from Gösta‘a uni days. It was quite amazing how Marleen battled the first leg of that trip, from the ferry to her first hotel. Cycling away with rain pouring down, wind in the wrong direction, late, the kind of conditions that would have made most people turn around and go home. Not Marleen. She got to her hotel, had her sleep, got up the next day and had a terrific holiday. Meeting strangers to chat to and enjoying herself. Positive, resilient and enjoying the moment. Marleen, you will certainly stay in my memory.
Jan Ferguson-Karlsson & Gösta Karlsson
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Dear Rikkie, Johan and Annamarie, Please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of your dear sister, Marleen. As soon as I read the email advising the Hash that her treatment had been stopped, I sent her an email. I told her that we loved her and that we were very grateful for everything that she had done for all of us in the Hash for many, many years. I also told her that she was in our thoughts, our hearts and our prayers. I hope that she was able to read it. I have many happy memories of Marleen. Her encouragement that I could actually run a little longer. That I could do the Brussels 20. The Hashes that she and your parents hosted at Herzele. She seemed always to be happy, ready to laugh and very, very positive. A force to be reckoned with. She will be sorely missed. In deepest sympathy, Jill Clarkson
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