Maria G. Kroontje's Obituary
Marietje Kroontje died Tuesday, November 4th at the age of 94.
Born in Rotterdam Netherlands, Marietje immigrated to the United States in 1948 with her now deceased husband, friend and partner, Wybe Kroontje. Living in the Netherlands during World War II, Marietje had experienced both the devastation of war and the joy of liberation by US and Allied troops.
She was devoted to her husband and worked tirelessly with him, first as he achieved his degree in agronomy at Cornell University and later as he became a professor of Agronomy at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Before retiring from that post, Wybe and Marietje volunteered some 13-years of their time in the planning and fundraising for a non-profit retirement community in Blacksburg, Virginia known as Warm Hearth Village. Their joint effort in launching Warm Hearth was to contribute to the care and wellbeing of the elderly as an expression of gratitude to the United States for liberating Europe from the Nazis. Today, Warm Hearth is a thriving retirement community that includes a nursing facility, an Alzheimer unit and on-site retail facilities. She was a loving and attentive mother and grandmother.
Marietje is survived by her daughter Roeli Kroontje, her son-in-law Scott Fuller and her granddaughter Lindsay Fuller who reside in Waterford, Virginia.
Memorial services will be held at the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, 701 Church St SE, Blacksburg, VA 24060 at 2:00PM on Saturday November 15, 2014.
In lieu of flowers donation may be made to the Warm Hearth Foundation, 2603 Warn Hearth Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24060.
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