Tuesday April 28. Found Rose Marie’s long lost Godfather.

Written by Jack van Ommen on April 28th, 2015

I had been searching for years, while I spent time on “Fleetwood” in and near Belgium, on the internet and Facebook for the Claeys family, dear friends we had when we lived in the Brussels section of Forest in 1966/67. We lost contact after we returned to the United States and the difficult years of our family splitting up in 1972. Last week I visited the old neighborhood where we lived on Rue Henri Maubel and I walked past the house of the Claeys family, which brought back many fond memories. Their son Claude and his sister Colette are the “Pareins” godparents of Rose Marie, our second oldest daughter who is born in Brussels in 1968. Claude was then 15 or 16 and his sister a few years older. So, he has to be close to sixty four now. Today I received a comment on this web site from Claude. He has been living in Argentina for the last 33 years. We will have lots to catch up. How and where his sisters are, I may need to make another trip to Brussels before I leave and introduce my granddaughter Corrine to them. Corrine’s mother was two years old when the Claeys family met her, nearly fifty years ago.

L.R. Claude, Joan with Rose Marie, Colette, Jack, Mme. Claeys at Baptismal Feb 1968 St. Pie-X Forest (Bruxelles)

L.R. Claude, Joan with Rose Marie, Colette, Jack, Mme. Claeys at Baptismal Feb 1968 St. Pie-X Forest (Bruxelles)

 

Same location, picture taken last week

Same location, picture taken last week

 

 

 

3 Comments so far ↓

  1. Claude Claeys says:

    Fantastic, this way of communication which able to re meet somebody lost in the passed. Yes, this picture moves me a little. Since more than 32 years, Colette has been living in Waterloo, Avenue Marie Louise and her fone is 02/ 3542547 and Yvette my other sister lives in Rixensart. Remember that Yvette used to make bany sitting for you. I have 3 duagters and 8,999 !! yes grandsons and grandaughters, all of them living here in Argentina. We have been many times in Belgium, espacially I because I have been workin for a belgian multi national unit based in Bruges. Im a just back from business in Bolivia and in LIMA.
    Answer my conecting call by skype.
    Best regards, Jack.
    C&B,cia.

  2. Colette Claeys Bourdoux says:

    Bonjour Jack.je ne connais pas assez d’anglais pour t’écrire mais ce serait l’occasion de m’y remettre. Comme tu sais, je suis mariée depuis 42 ans avec Pierre Bourdoux que tu connais car il était très actif à Saint Pie X. Nous n’avons pas d’enfant. J’ai été professeur de grec et de latin pendant 40 ans et suis donc à la retraite maintenant depuis 8 ans. Ma vie est très active, j’apprends l’espagnol, je voyage beaucoup, je jardine, je m’occupe de la maison, je fais tout ce que je n’ai pu faire pendant ma vie professionnelle. C’est une fameuse surprise de vous retrouver et d’avoir des nouvelles. Maman est décédée il y a un an et mon Papa est
    décédé en 1987. Compliments à tous. Colette and Pierre

  3. Merci, Colette je t’ecrirai par e-mail.