Ode to Loek Frohn-de WinterSocially hyperactive
Loek Frohn-de Winter, photographer: unknown, source: Advisory Board of the Marie Louise Foundation
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On the wall on our terrace, right where the first sunlight falls in late summer, hangs a metal female figure. It is a “Yei Bei Che,” one of the gods of the Navajo. She connects man with the forces of nature. She always reminds me of you, Loek. No doubt you have often sat here, alone or with friends, celebrating the good life. I dare not take away the Yei Bei Che, even if she is benevolent. You never know!
Today is your death anniversary, perhaps that's why I started this tribute just today. You lived in our house from 1970 to 2015. You bought the house with your husband Erik Frohn, who died unexpectedly the year you moved in. You lived alone in this house for over 45 years, but you were not often alone.
You kept home practice as a psychologist in addition to your work at the Wilhelmina Guest House and took care of many who needed it here, sometimes for long periods of time. Your terrace was pleasant and your garden was wild, full of flowering plants. Life was also good in the house: the fireplace was used a lot and there was a lot of smoking and drinking. Especially your birthdays on July 9 were legendary, according to the neighbors.
You were “socially hyperactive” according to the article that appeared in Trouw at the time of your death. To this day, we receive mail for you from various charities at home and abroad. The foundation you established for your estate, from which we bought this house, continues to contribute to causes that promote self-reliance and independence for people in vulnerable situations. You have meant a lot to psychodiagnostics and to the city of Amsterdam, especially as president of the Maagdenhuis foundation. For this, you received the Silver Medal of the City of Amsterdam.
I did not know you Loek, but I feel grateful and honored that we could live in your house with our children and enjoy the morning sun on your terrace. You connect us with other people and with nature and we like to celebrate friendship and neighborliness in your tradition.
Period
1929– 2015
About
Ode to Claartje by Loek Frohn-de Winter.
She was socially hyperactive, connector and bearer of the silver medal of the city of Amsterdam.
Loek Frohn-de Winter
Loek Frohn-de Winter was socially hyperactive, connector and bearer of the silver medal of the city of Amsterdam.