At the beginning of December, our "old friend" Gert-Jan Roebersen passed away.
Gert-Jan became secretary of our foundation, Friends of Wester-Amstel, in 2003. He succeeded Bernard Offringa, making him the second secretary in the foundation’s history. He was meticulous and eloquent—qualities clearly reflected in the archive he handed over in 2010 to his successor, the author of this piece. He enriched each of his annual reports with a special introduction about Wester-Amstel and its history.
Beyond his duties as secretary, he worked closely with then-chair Annelies Reesink to organise many festivities. The highlight was the 2006 Midsummer Festival, celebrating the 12.5-year anniversary of the Friends foundation. The event was themed around the Dutch Golden Age, complete with music and poetry from the period—and Rembrandt “in person.”
In 2012, Gert-Jan succeeded Eric Glasius as editor-in-chief of this newsletter. When contributions were lacking, he would simply write the content himself. He did so up to and including the 100th issue, which was published in 2019 to mark the 25th anniversary of the foundation. It was also the final print edition of De Buitenplaats. Since 2020, we've gone digital.
Gert-Jan was also very active beyond Wester-Amstel. He was a member of the Ouderkerk Bird Working Group, an IVN nature guide, and organised walking tours through the Amstelland countryside. And so, in a way, he always found his way back to Wester-Amstel.
In short, we lose a good friend with Gert-Jan.
By: Henk Blok