Frans Visser died at the age of 89 after a short illness. He was a descendant of Dirk Thomasz Meerder, one of the chief officers of the frigate Huis te Warmelo.
Through his grandson Matthijs, who has published a family tree on the Internet, I came into contact with Frans. To my surprise, he turned out to live in Medemblik, just a stone’s throw away from the shipyard where the Huis te Warmelo was built in the eighteenth century.
Since 2019, I have visited Frans several times for coffee and together we visited the mayor of Medemblik Frank Streng. Frans thought it was all wonderful. And although he was more interested in (church) music and nature, the family history did not leave him unmoved completely.
The farewell service for Frans Visser took place on 28th October 2021 in the Sint-Martinus church in Medemblik.
Photo by Marcel Rob.