A lovely memorial tribute to 27 years of friendship from Carole and Walt's friends Thea Groenveld and Roel Geuzinge in the Netherlands:
Dear family and friends of Carole,
Carole's passing was a great shock to us.
Especially because the Sunday before Doug and Jenny were with us in the Netherlands and we called Carole.
She was talking about celebrating her 90th birthday.
Even when we called each other, she was busy with life, despite all the COVID limitations, the loss of Walt and being alone.
For us, Carole belongs to the inner circle of special friends. We really love her. It's amazing, when we unexpectedly stepped into her world 27 years ago, that from the beginning we had a bond that went way beyond ordinary friendships. Yes, she had more of these friendships.
For us it was Dannelle and Linda and Jill.
We got to know Carole through Walt.
In 1994 Thea followed an NLP training in Soho. Once a month she came to New York on Thursday evening and flew back on Sunday night.
Sometimes Roel went with her. During the day he goes out to do something else or sometimes spend a few days with friends in Virginia.
The first time, Roel was supposed to pick her up at 6 o'clock on Sunday evening, but he wasn't there.
Walt didn't leave Thea alone in the square waiting for him. He arrived at the Holland Tunnel at 5:00 PM. But on Sunday night, half of America wanted to go down town New York. 8 lanes had to be squeezed through two lanes. It took him three hours to get through the Holland Tunnel. At 8 o'clock Roel was finally there.
When we brought Walt home, we met Carole.
Walt took care of Thea and they had lunch and rode back on the same subway.
The following year Carole and Walt came to us in Amsterdam.
It was also very special that we went to the center by metro on Queen's Day. On that day, the Netherlands is one large garage sail. One half sells all their old stuff to the other half.
When we got out at Waterlooplein, a boy was sitting there with old books. Carole picked up the book The Happy Hooker and told the story of how her husband made that book possible and that it formed the basis of their apartment on West 87thtreet. Afterwards that they went to Mel's house in France.
The following year we stayed at Chez Abel.
A few years later we went to Denmark together. To Aarhus where Mel worked at the university and Carole visited an old acquaintance in Copenhagen. Then we went to Sweden and Berlin.
We enjoyed each other's company.
Since then we have been regularly in New York and we were always welcome at Carole and Walt.
The moment Thea enters New York, she gets an energy boost. For Roel, the warm welcome from Carole was the boost. He had a special bond with her. Roel lost his father at the age of eleven. His mother was also left with two boys. He recognized in her the struggle that his mother also had. But he also enjoyed all the stories she and her naughty friends had experienced.
For hours we sat at the breakfast table and the whole world was scrutinized.
We were there a month after 9/11. At the table with Doug and Jenny and Danelle, the conversation turned that our grandson's first word was boe, the sound of the cow.
Huge surprise, because in English it is moo. Then we went through the animals to see what differences there were in pronunciation and sound. A lot!
A great release while down town the remains were still smoldering from the attack. We have visited many theater performances, also together with neighbor Danelle. Also, Walt drove us to beautiful places outside New York.
The discussions about the extent to which spirituality was real were delightful.
We also went for a coffee with Doug and Jenny in Woodstock.
We also went to the cinema to see Doug's documentary about the kidnappings in Brazil. We regularly had dinner together at The Waverly Inn.
It makes sense to us that we called our house on the river Waver in the Netherlands The Waverly House and the kitchen building The Waverly Inn.
We met family and friends of Carole in New York and also with us in the Netherlands. While we were in New York with our whole family, our children and grandchildren also met Carole and Walt.
In 2018 we were in New York for a month. Walt's health had already deteriorated considerably. So we were in a hotel.
We spent the election night that the Democrats regained the majority in the House of Representatives together.
Our last picture from Carole, when we were with Linda and Jill eating bagels. So we share many beautiful memories.
Carole was so happy that Oscar was born. Over the years we have exchanged many experiences about the ups and downs in the lives of our children and grandchildren.
How happy Carole was when David and Oscar came to her by bike from Queens at the start of the lockdown.
And how much Carole liked it when Doug was with her when he had work to do in New York.
How hard it was for Carole not to be able to care for Walt anymore. Also that she couldn't go to Walt because of Covid, even after his death.
Then she was alone in her apartment. And luckily she survived Covid.
Friends left New York during that period.
Her life became even quieter.
And then Dannelle (neighbor for many decades) moves out of the apartment next to her. An extremely long time of sharing joys and sorrows almost every day comes to an abrupt end.
We were supposed to visit Carole in April 2020, but that was not possible die to COVID. Calling regularly was all that was left.
As tough as it was, in every conversation there was her infectious laugh, her humor, her interest in what is happening in the world, her positivity to always make something of it.
Her hospitality and friendliness were so authentic. She and Walt have given New York great value to us. Chez Abel was a safe haven for us.
Carole enriched our lives, she will remain in our hearts forever.
With love,
Roel & Thea
Geuzinge & Groeneveld December 28th 2021
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