Mom was nine years old when the Germans invaded and occupied Holland in 1940.  Towards the end of the war, conditions were tough in Holland.  Mom shared stories of watching aerial combat in the sky above and on one occasion the fighting caused a large clay tile to fall from a roof and strike mom in the head. Other than a nasty scar, she was ok. 

She also was so proud of her father, our Opa, who according to mom, participated the Dutch underground resistance efforts (not sure to what extend this was true but it made for good stories).  This childhood experience greatly influenced who mom was as a person. She was strong willed, caring and never backed down from a challenge. And if you were her friend, you were her friend for life.

Rob

This was mom's favorite car.  1969 Pontiac Firebird 400 convertible (way too powerful for mom but she loved it).  We drove this car from California to West Virginia one summer. The four of us in this car with luggage; it was a little tight in the back seat. Ultimate road trip with dad driving 100 mph through the heartland of America.  I'm sure we weren't wearing seat belts...

I have fond memories of mom driving me and my friends down the coast to the beach with the top down. Definitely the coolest mom in this car.   On one occasion, mom was driving us somewhere and it had rained earlier in the day so the road was a little slick. Mom gave it a little gas and next thing we know we spun onto the center divider. This car a lot of power.  No damage to the car and my friends and I couldn't stop laughing.  I think dad convinced mom to sell the car the following year and buy a Toyota...just wasn't the same. 

Rob