AUBURN – Tjerk De Haan passed away peacefully on April 10, at the Hospice House, 5 days before his 93rd birthday and surrounded by his loving family. He was happily married to Johanna Siemensma for 62 years.

The son of Joseph and Ida Huitenga De Haan, he was born on April 15, 1913, in the port town of Harlingen, the Netherlands, where he learned to love the life by the sea. He lived in the cities of Leeuwarden and Groningen before immigrating to America with his wife and children in January 1957.

He settled in Maine, where he continued his career in furniture design at Paris Manufacturing Co. His design included furniture for college dormitories throughout New England as well as in his own home. He became an American citizen in 1964.

Throughout his life, his hobbies included sailing, swimming, and singing in the choir. During his retirement, he enjoyed watercolor painting classes and made several paintings treasured by his family. He also continued to make furniture at his home workshop. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and an active member of St. Philips Church in Auburn, where he served many years as a eucharistic minister.

He leaves behind his wife, Johanna of Auburn; three sons, Andre and wife, Miriam, of Mandeville, La., Theo of Queensbury, N.Y. and Dirk and wife, Tina, of Lewiston; two daughters, Maria and husband, Robert Petrola, of Wakefield, Mass., and Ida and husband, Walter Weissmann, of Bad Windsheim, Germany; a daughter-in-law, Lynda De Haan of Harpswell; and seven grandchildren, Derek, Johanna, Joshua, Sophie, Kristofer, Heidi and Christian, who endearingly called him Opa.

He was predeceased by a son, Joseph Dec. 6, 2003; and three sisters, Riemke Jongma, Adriana Rodenburg, and Sabrina Van Balen.

The family wishes to thank the entire staff at the Hospice House in Auburn for their loving care they gave Tjerk in the last few days of his long and fulfilling life. “Rust Zacht, lieve Tjerk.”

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