24 - North Shore News - Sunday, October 29, 2000

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Es

DIEN (Horstman)
Pieters-East maintains
that: “Sharing is loving,
and loving means liv-
ing.”

Her shipboard romance
turned into a lifetime love
affair. Facing life with
courage, a constant thirst for
knowledge, and an energetic
urge for accomplishment of
whatever task she takes on,
Dien’s days continue to be
filled to the brim with helping
others. Her dedication to her
causes is outstanding, and her
natural friendliness is refresh-
ing. Interested in world
affairs, this world traveller,
envoy, teacher, community
worker and knowledgeable
woman is always willing to
make time in her busy sched-
ule to be of service to others
in her community and to
share her thoughts and experi-
ences with her wide circle of
family and friends.

Born on Dec. 6 in 1932 at
Klumpert, Zenderen,
Holland, she was the eldest of
seven siblings. She lived on
her family’s farm until she was
18 years old, a lot of that time
helping to raise her younger
siblings.

Dien trained for four years
to be an elementary school
teacher, including teaching,
gymnastics and handicrafts.

For 15 years she taught
berween Denekamp and
Groenlo, Holland. During,
that period, in her spare ime
she worked for the under-
ground war effort. Itwas not
always easy in those days.

She recalls: "One day
when I was siding my bicvele
doing errands at Denckamp,
soldiers with machine guns
began shooting atime. I
jumped into the river and the
bullets hissed as they hit the
water around me. EF was terri-
fied.

“Then, when twas teach-
ing at Groenlo, I was almost
shot to death in my classroom
by a pro-Nazi woman, but
that’s another story...”

In 1946, Dien came to
Canada as a special envoy tor
the Netherlands Ministry of
Education, sponsored by
Princess Juliana who had lived
in Ottawa during the war. En
route to Canada aboard the
ship Talissa, on day seven of
the 13-day voyage via
Rotterdam to New York, Dien
met her future husband,
handsome Alphons Pieters,
and 2 shipboard romance
began.

Here in Canada, Dien trav-
elled across the country inter-
viewing people in all depart-
ments of education, to learn
about the Canadian education
system. She was written up in
the various major Canadian
newspapers at the time.

Afier the voyage aboard
the ship Talisa, Dien and
Alphons had gone their sepa--
rate ways, but kept in touch
and eventually their romance
blossomed to the marriage
stage. This meant that Dien
had to make a decision.
Getting married meant giving

BLzsty can

NEWS photo Julle iverson

DIEN Pleters-East met her fate husband, Afphons,
aboard a ship, en route to Canada from the

Netherlands in 1946.

up her career, but her heart
won out and on May 31,
1947, she and Alphons were
married in the West Point
Grey United Church in
Vancouver.

With her fice beaming,
Dien recalls: “We had a 4%-
month fairytale honeymoon
trip throughout B.C. and the
west coast of the United
States. Then a further seven-
week trip cn a passenger
freight ship across the Pacific

te Hawaii, Hong Kong,
Manila, Singapore and finally
Indonesia, where we lived for
two years.”

Alphons was the manager
for the Singer Sewing
Machise Company for all of
Indonesia. After their pwo-year
stay in Indonesia, the Pieters
rested and relaxed on a seven-
weck cruise to the
Mediterranean, then to

See Memoirs following page

veryone

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