Eugenie Victorine Merghart: 90 Years, 3 Continents & 6 Children. After 90 years of living on three different continents and giving birth to six children, Mrs. Eugenie Victorine Merghart, a long time resident of Wayland, Massachusetts began her final journey on the morning of December 23, 2011. She passed away of natural causes in her Marlboro, Massachusetts residence. Born February 18, 1921 in

Batavia on the Indonesian island of Java (at the time a part of the Dutch colonial empire known as the Dutch East Indies), she was the third child of Agatha Thoorop and Andries Herbert van der Muelen. Other siblings included Wilma La Prere Galstaun, Jules van der Muelen and Tilly Koomen, all whom predeceased her. From the age of 10, she was raised by catholic nuns in an orphanage. On December 19, 1941, just days after the Dutch declared war on Japan, Eugenie married Jan Peter Merghart of Borneo, Indonesia. Their relationship was put on hold for 4 years while Jan served in the Royal Dutch Navy and Eugenie remained living in Indonesia under Japanese occupation. They reunited in 1945 and remained together for the next 51 years until Jan passed away in 1996. The first of their six children, Errol Peter was born was born in 1946. Robin and Andre followed in 1947 and 1949 before political unrest and the Indonesian Independence movement forced the family to immigrate to The Netherlands in 1950. The family would expand once again with the 1954 birth of Rene in Amsterdam and plans to find a “better future for the boys” would begin to take hold with the family’s application for asylum under Eisenhower’s 1954 Political Refugee Act. Two years later under the sponsorship of the Wellesley Baptist Church, they would arrive in Massachusetts were they would make their home for the next 30 years.

In 1958, Eugenie gave birth to the first of her two girls, Jennifer and then again in 1960 with the birth of Lorraine. The family moved to a home located on Dudley Pond in Cochituate, Massachusetts where Eugenie and Jan were often seen walking with their dogs, riding bikes or swimming at the community pool. Eugenie’s greatest accomplishments in life revolved around her role as a mother and securing her independence. Her desire to drive an automobile would result in her enlisting her sons to teach her. Her desire to contribute financially would result in no job proving too small from babysitting to part time cashier work. Her desire to learn to swim at the age of 50 would manifest itself in her enrolling in swim lessons and becoming a regular at the Town Pool. Her talents included the more traditional arts of sewing, knitting and cooking. She was well known for preparing impromptu feasts of exotic Indonesian rijstafel specialties for family and friends throughout the years. Eugenie Victorine Merghart is survived by five of her children, eight grandchildren and numerous nephews and nieces. A memorial service will be scheduled in Wayland in late Spring 2012. The photo is of Eugenie V. Merghart at her 90th Birthday Celebration.

Sign Guest Book Cancel reply