Earlier today, September 14, 2024, Reverend Arie van der Veer passed away at the age of 82. Arie van der Veer was, among other things, chairman of the EO for many years, presenter of the program ‘Nederland Zingt’ and active as a speaker in the programs ‘De Kapel’ and ‘Nederland Zingt op Zondag’. In addition, Reverend Arie provided the radio program ‘De Bijbel Open’ for many years.
The family writes: ‘Arie passed away surrounded by his wife and children. He breathed his last while singing ‘I will be there’. At first we thought in months, then in weeks. It became days. He was not afraid of dying, but he was afraid of the road to it. ‘I really have to cross the Jordan’, Arie wrote two days ago. The path has dried up. He is in the Promised Land.’
Major operation
In 2001, Rev. Van der Veer was diagnosed with an aneurysm in his coronary artery. He had to undergo major surgery. In 2008, shortly before he retired as chairman of the EO, he was told he had prostate cancer. It was an aggressive form of cancer, but the treatment was successful. Three years later, in 2011, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. That year, together with Rita Renema-Mentink, he founded the foundation ‘When cancer affects you’ op.
I have escaped death four times
On April 9, 2018, Pastor Arie van der Veer suffered a stroke. The shock was enormous, but he made a miraculous recovery. Later it turned out that the prostate cancer had returned and that metastases had been found. In December 2020, he received a new pacemaker, his fourth.
Living under a cloudy sky
In 2019, Pastor Arie wrote about the recurrence of prostate cancer: “I now have cancer for the third time. Last year I suffered a stroke. And this period started with a heart operation. Why am I writing this down and telling this? Is it asking for pity? Or do I want to mention it as a series of heroic deeds? Like ‘look at me’? No, I would like to show and hear how God has supported my wife and me through everything. But also to tell about my doubts and struggles. That is why I call this last period: ‘living under a cloudy sky’.” In February 2023 he said: “There are tough months ahead.”
Loss of his son
Arie van der Veer was married to Ees. Together they had four children and many grandchildren. On June 8, 2015, Peter van der Veer, Arie’s oldest son, died. He suffered a cardiac arrest and was found lifeless in the kitchen of his home. Peter was a church worker in the Christian Reformed Church in Zwolle. He was married to Annet and father of seven children, including three foster children.
Dementia
Arie also shared his concerns about his wife Ees, who suffers from dementia, in his blogs. “For many, getting and having dementia is still taboo. You don’t just tell people about it. You don’t go around bragging about it. Talking about it also felt like a kind of betrayal to me at first. Telling someone else about something your partner is barely aware of. But it helps if someone else knows about it and knows your sorrow and troubles! That you don’t ridicule your wife, but try to understand her.
Ees and I have experienced so much together. If she hadn’t been there, I would never have been able to do my job. In the past, she could really do everything. Now I say: we do everything together. Because we have really experienced all the memories that slide into each other. What privileges.”
Life motto
Rev. Van der Veer’s life motto was: “Realize every day that you have to die.” For him, this motto had no tragic side, but was an encouragement to live your life as best you can and to enjoy every day.
In January 2020 he said in Vision: “I have escaped death four times.”
“When you mention the word cancer, people often ask how long you have left. I don’t know how long I have left to live. I do know one thing: I’ve had cancer three times now, and I’m not going to be cancer-free anymore.”
Knowing you have to die is part of your life
When asked what he would do if he had 24 hours to live, he said, “I hope my children surround me. I would pick up the phone and say, ‘Take the day off.’ Then I would sing together. That sounds pious, doesn’t it? I would even like to have a whole bunch of people come and sing.”
Decreasing forces
Rev. Arie had prepared the practical aspects of his death for years before his death. Yet he hoped that he would be able to live to a very old age. As he said in that same Vision-interview: “That doesn’t feel contradictory, no. Knowing that you have to die is part of your life. We are mortal people after all. That knowledge doesn’t make me unhappy. The only thing is that it now goes hand in hand with a natural process of diminishing strength. Because of the cancer in my body, I am, as it were, a threatened stronghold, where the enemy can invade at any moment.”
‘Am I saved?’
Rev. Van der Veer never kicked against the faith, he said in a Vision-interview in June 2021. He has also always remained very consistent in his views, he said. “I think that now that I am getting older, I have more doubts than in my puberty. Although doubt is not the right word; the questions have become bigger. And I worry a lot, now that we are getting older. How will things go later?”
(…) “I hope that the faith that has always kept me going will not be taken away from me in the coming years. But that I may remain standing, even if it is crying and singing. The funny thing is: the question that my mother always used to ask – ‘Am I saved?’ – now comes back to me, like an echo from the past. My children will laugh about it, and Ees always says: ‘Don’t worry.’ But I worry about it. More than before.”
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Rev. Arie and Ees van der Veer. Credits: Jacqueline de Haas. Simple
Arie van der Veer came from a simple family of three children. His father was a meter reader. After high school, Van der Veer studied theology at the Theological University in Apeldoorn. It was his dream to become a minister. The study did not come easy to him – “Boy, did I struggle with ancient languages at high school: Greek, Latin and Hebrew” – but he was very driven to get the most out of his study time. This drive was typical of minister Arie.
In 1966, Reverend van der Veer became a minister in Nieuwe Pekela. He was 24 at the time. In 1972, he went to Zwolle, where he was a minister for eighteen years. During this time, his congregation grew rapidly.
Broadcasting Chairman
From 1990 to 2008, Arie van der Veer was chairman of the Evangelische Omroep. During this period, the EO was given A-status as a public broadcaster. His managerial qualities and strategic insights were also noticed by other broadcasters. It was not without reason that he was vice-chairman of the NOS from 1991 to 1998.
Ecumenism of the heart
Van der Veer often emphasized the unity among Christians. He expressed this with the concept of ‘ecumenism of the heart’. By breathing new life into the ichthus symbol, he made this mutual unity visible. He sent about half a million stickers with ichthus fish to the EO supporters.
Minister
The various EO programs, events and activities in which Van der Veer played a role as a presenter, among other things, offered him the opportunity to remain a minister in a different way. In the program The Netherlands Sings on Sunday he provided short meditations and spoke with special people. Thanks to this program, many considered Reverend Arie as ‘their’ reverend.
Arie van der Veer was also very active in other media. For example, he wrote for Visionthe magazine of the EO, meditations for years and he provided weekly reflections on the radio. He also made meditations for the internet and on Facebook he regularly shared a reflection with his followers. In addition, he wrote various (diary) books, including Believe in the future, There are mountains around Jerusalem in Just believe thatTogether with his daughter Ellen Laninga he wrote the children’s Bible Just listen.
Royal distinction
Upon his retirement as chairman of the Evangelical Broadcasting Corporation on September 25, 2008, he was decorated as Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau by the mayor of Hilversum.
Workaholic
Rev. Arie wanted to continue working as long as possible. In the Vision-interview from 2020 he said about it: “I don’t necessarily like getting old; it’s mainly letting go. Now I’m a workaholic anyway, but that’s probably why I keep working as long as possible. Someone recently asked: ‘Wouldn’t you stop?’ And I said: ‘If you force me to stop, you’ll do something really bad to me.’ Because then I think: it’s over. Is working an escape then? No, I don’t think so. But I admit: I’m a bit of a workaholic. The punishment would be even greater if I had to stop. Although I can also let go again – as long as they give me another toy. So if I’m not allowed to do something anymore, I start brooding about something else. Yes, that’s a weakness.”
Do not resuscitate
In December 2020, when he received a new pacemaker, Pastor Arie wrote in his blog: “Once again, I was asked the question in the hospital. ‘Do you want to be resuscitated?’ This time I said ‘no.’ My reconsideration has everything to do with our age and health. I am working on the last stage. A stage with a number of mountains of the first category. We were both forced (his wife Ees and himself, ed.) to take a step back. As annoying as that is, it does give us space to once again reflect on our ‘why?’
What is my interest in growing very old? ‘Not at any price’, my wife said. She was the first to fill in: ‘do not resuscitate’. I have followed her now. Ideally we would both ‘Come Home’ at the same time.”
We would love to ‘Come Home’ together at the same time
Most difficult times in life
Early 2024, the wiring of his pacemaker had to be replaced. Unfortunately, this was not possible due to a narrowing of the blood vessels. A new pacemaker could be placed. Shortly afterwards, Pastor Arie had to start chemotherapy. In the summer of 2024, it turned out that the chemotherapy did not have the desired effect. Nevertheless, he wanted to continue with these treatments, also because he wanted to take care of his wife Ees for a longer period of time. At the end of August, the oncologist unfortunately had bad news. “The end of my earthly life is in sight. I have exhausted all my treatments. The chemo has destroyed my body. I can no longer walk far. I am extremely tired.”
That last day is also the beginning of a new life
About growing older, he said in 2021: “I think that is perhaps one of the most difficult periods in life. You do not stay the same, many people pass away. In Ecclesiastes 12 it says: ‘Remember your Creator in the days of your youth – before the bad days come.’ Well, I am in those bad days now. I often think of the old days and the songs from then; then my heart flares up again.”
He especially emphasized the fact that you are still valuable, even if you are getting older. “People might say: ‘Well, that Van der Veer has gotten a lot older, hasn’t he?’ Not at all, as long as you let someone do what he is allowed and able to do. For me, it is important that I serve God as long as I can. I say to my bosses at the EO: ‘If I start doing crazy things, if I start writing nonsense, you have to be so merciful that you tell me. Because I don’t want people to say: ‘Oh, that old pastor is repeating himself, he is such a nice man.’ I think that is terrible, that is dishonoring someone.”
He concluded the interview with a quote from Bonhoeffer: “That last day is also the beginning of a new life.”
Knowing that Rev. Arie van der Veer is now with his heavenly Father and son Peter, we wish his wife Ees and close family and friends God’s comfort and closeness with this loss.
The editorial staff of Visie
Pastor Arie van der Veer 1942 -2024. Credits: Jacqueline de Haas.
