From:  "Fred's Place"   Nov. 21, 2007:

 

 

CWO Adrian Derek de Zeeuw

De Zeeuw, Adrian* Anchorage resident Adrian Derek de Zeeuw, 81, died Nov. 13, 2007, at Alaska Regional Hospital due to complications of lymphoma. Visitation will be from noon-1 p.m. Monday at Witzleben's Bragaw Chapel. Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Fort Richardson National Cemetery. Those attending services need to arrive at Fort Richardson's main gate by 1:45 p.m.

Adrian was born Oct. 16, 1926, in Santa Cruz, Calif. He graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle in 1944. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving on the USS Tucson. There, he engaged with aircraft carriers in strikes against Japan and was present in Tokyo Bay for surrender ceremonies. Adrian also served on the USS Barton and partook in atomic bomb tests including Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll in 1946. Adrian served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1947, the Merchant Marines from 1947 to 1948, the U.S. Coast Guard from 1948 to 1967, and for the State of Alaska as an insurance fraud investigator from 1972 until retiring in 1985.

After the Navy, Adrian followed in the footsteps of his father and joined the U.S. Coast Guard, serving with distinction on various cutters on the West Coast and Alaska. Adrian served on the icebreaker Northwind for Bering Sea patrols and icebreaker duties in the Arctic Ocean. He was also stationed on buoy tenders in Ketchikan and Cordova. Upon retiring from the Coast Guard as a chief warrant officer, Adrian went to work for the Alaska Department of Labor in Anchorage. He lived in Cordova from 1962 to 1965 and in Anchorage from 1967 to 2007. Adrian enjoyed stamp collecting, gardening, reading, spending time with family, carpentry, and taking motor home trips.

His family writes: 'Our father was a remarkably strong, kind and disciplined man who was deeply admired for his steadfast care of his family. You will never meet a man as straightforward, honest and as dependable as Adrian de Zeeuw. He was a reserved and quiet man who loved his family and animals. He was an excellent self-taught gardener and avid collector of U.S. and world stamps. He believed in recycling and simple personal responsibility. 'Upon retiring from the Coast Guard, he remained in Alaska, where he worked on the Anchorage dock for Standard Oil while studying at night. Within a few years he went to work for the State of Alaska, where he became the unemployment insurance fraud investigator for South Central. Skilled in the old seaman's art of rope making and woodworking, he was an impressive carpenter who built the family beautiful furniture, playhouses, doll furniture, sandboxes, planters, and garden fences. He drove us each summer down the Alcan Highway to his in-laws' Alberta farm and took us on many memorable picnics and camping trips. His support for his children only grew with the passing years. Upon retirement, he enjoyed many years of traveling by motor home in the Lower 48 with his beloved wife of nearly 48 years.

During his illness, he gave us the great gift of inspiring us with his unwavering strength and powerful dignity. He retained his wry sense of humor and delighted his caregivers by smiling for everyone until the end.' Adrian is survived by his wife, Mary de Zeeuw; daughter, Maureen de Zeeuw; sons, Adrian and Brian de Zeeuw, all of Anchorage; brother, Phillip Magaran of Tucson, Ariz.; nephew, Denny Fuller and his wife Barb of Bandon, Ore., nephews, Larry and Phillip Strickland; niece, Tessa Morgan; and cousin, Vi Mahony. He was preceded in death by his brother, Carl, and sisters, Betty and Marilyn. Published in the Anchorage Daily News on 11/18/2007

 

11/20/07 Submitted by: Thomas Gemmell gemmell@gci.net