Category: Indo of the month 2017

Mama Oma Willy Monsantofils Duysings passed over into her heavenly home peacefully at home 10:56pm March 27, 2024 surrounded by family members.Mama, Willy Monsantofils Duysings, was born on September 2, 1926 in Porwokerto, on the island of Java, in The Dutch East Indies.She passed away on March 27, 2024 at age 97. She was the last of her siblings to go. She lived a long and full life filled with joys and pangs, a fruitful life.She was the 4th child of eight children. Three boys and five girls. Her father was Hendrik Monsantofils, a train station master, and her mother was Josephine Droop, a great-great-granddaughter of a German pirate, Henrich von Droop, who eventually sailed to The Dutch East Indies and married a native girl, making Java his home.Her childhood was a normal upbringing, with the exception of multiple moves to different cities because of her father’s train station master job. Growing up with seven siblings must have had many interesting times.In her later teens, for three and a half years (1942-1945) the family had to survive the harsh Japanese military occupation of the islands.Their lives were tremendously affected by the war years. Immediately, when the Japanese military invaded the islands, her oldest brother, Alfred (Diet), was gathered up and put into one of many military prison camps on Java. Her second oldest brother, Gerard (Ade), who was a very young 19 year old Dutch Navy sailor, was killed in the sinking of the Dutch Navy flagship, the HNLMS De Ruyter, in the Battle of the Java Sea in February 27, 1942.The family plied out a living under the very restrictive Japanese rule.In late 1944, her father, Hendrik, was arrested by the Japanese, accused of taking part in a train sabotage. This was a drummed up charge to conveniently point blame for the incident. He was placed in a government prison to rot away. In the meantime, the family had to eke out a very precarious and meager living without the father’s monthly income. They were forced to move to a different house in the outskirts of the City of Batavia, the capital. Life was difficult during the war years, but the family pulled through.Only two months before the end of WWII, their father died from ill health in the prison. Such a horendous loss.After the war, the family got on with life as the oldest children found jobs to keep the household together. Yet, a new threat loomed and posed itself on them, Indonesian Nationalism seeking independence. All non indigenous people became targets of discrimination with brutal attacks against them in the post war years. Life as the family knew it in pre-war years would never be the same. It would be a time for tremendous change which led to a large-scale diaspora out of the country for non-indigenous people.In the meantime, in early 1948, at age 22, Mama Willy met Herman, her future husband. They married on October 15, 1948.Papa Herman, also a survivor of a Japanese prison camp, had just finished a stint in the KNIL (Royal Nederland East Indies Army) and civil engineering school, now was employed on a tea and rubber plantation near Sukabumi, Java as head of security. Security measures were needed because bands of Indonesian insurgents roamed the countryside to rid the country of foreigners, especially of Dutch extraction.Two sons were born during this time, Arthur Roland (1949) and Peter Robert (1952).After the plantation was stolen by government decree to take control of all businesses, the young family moved to Bandung, Java where Papa Herman got a job with a civil engineering company. Rudolf Paul was born here in 1953.That same year, Papa Herman along with two friends were arrested on bogus insurrection against the state charges and were thrown in a government prison.While our father was taken captive, immediately our mother was faced with a whole new circumstance, having to figure out how to eke out a living with three very young sons and our father’s mother, old Oma Leen (L¯ane), also living there. The fortunate thing was that the house they lived in was owned by a family member and they stayed there rent free in Bandung. Another gracious gift was, our father’s employer, an engineering company, continued to pay his monthly salary for another six months. Anticipating the lack of income after the six months, our mother began growing orchids and cooking food for other families for money, while Oma Leen sewed clothes to sell. Of course, this routine could not sustain them forever.Meanwhile, the Dutch Consulate, kept urging the family to get out of the country for their sake of their welfare. In January 1955, a little over one year after our father was arrested, the family said their goodbyes to the few extended family members and friends who were still living in the country, and departed Java for Holland. Mama believed she would never see Papa Herman again.However, a marvelous story unfolded by God’s merciful hand and brought Papa back to us in Holland a year later in December 1955. (details of his escape is a separate story)Soon after, Papa got a civil engineering job and Mama a government job. In March 1957, a fourth son, Bernard Alexander was born at home in ‘s-Gravenzande, South Holland. We immigrated to America in June, 1960 to Bellflower, California. Then moved to Riverside, CA in 1963.Mama began work as a home cleaner full time. In June, 1969 we moved to San Jose, CA. Mama again picked up home cleaning jobs. She always said that the families she worked for treated her as family and even paid into her social security account, which helped her on retirement years.In 1974, Papa & Mama moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains on 3 acres. Ben was the only son still living at home. In 1989, Papa & Mama retired and moved out of state to Greenbank, Whidbey Island, Washington and built their dream house that Papa designed on a large parcel of land. At that time, Rudie and Ben and their families lived close by on Whidbey Island. They enjoyed the years gardening, road trips, and spending time with grandkids.Then in May 2002 Papa passed away at age 78 from a stroke. Mama sold the home and property and had a new small home built on the back end of Rudie’s 10 acre property. She has lived there happily since 2004.She has lived a very healthy life into a very ripe old age. A lot of that stems from eating healthy foods. She is survived by 4 sons, 12 grandchildren, 30 great-grand children, and 1 great-great grandchild. The great grand children have given her a lot of joy in her later years.Some miscellaneous info:She liked to laugh and play along with jokes – two of her favorite cartoon characters were Heckle & Jeckle. She even allowed us the watch The Three Stooges as long as we did not copy the rough antics.She liked playing tennis in her youth.She loved to read and do crossword puzzles.She was humble and had a good strong work ethic.She was well known as a good cook. She never used a cookbook. She cooked meals from scratch. It was rare when she cooked a meal from a boxed mix from the store. She cooked from memory, from years of learning from her mother how to whip up meals while growing up. She always made the tastiest of meals using her blend of spices. Some of our favorite ones were, Nasi goreng (fried rice), bami (Indonesian version of Chow Mein), sate Ayam or Babi (grilled chicken/pork kabab), bubur ayam (chicken rice porridge), Sayur (coconut vegetable soup), Gado-Gado (a type of salad), Krupuk (shrimp chip), and one of course we can’t forget Mama’s lumpia (egg roll). Immigrating to the US, brought forth new additional meals. Hamburgers, hotdogs, fried chicken, grilled cheese, spaghetti, tacos, and her version of Spanish rice.Her favorite color was BlueFavorite flower: orchid and lilySpring was her favorite seasonAnd lastly, but the most significant attribute of her life was her love and faith in the Lord God.The family knows that Mama’s faith and reliance on God was her all-encompassing treasure. To us, her simple faith in trusting the Lord was her paramount focus and was reflective as in Luke 18:17, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And this elementary trust in God was her stability, her pillar in life. We are all so very jubilant that she is celebrating the most magnificent gift of eternal life with her God in paradise now. We thank God for loving Mama, and bringing her into His fold.We love you, Mama. You have always been our most favorite mother of all time. It is soothing to know you and Papa Herman are together again. Rest in God’s bosom forever. Please add these pictures to it. 

I am Melissa Marthese, a third generation Indo born and raised in Southern California.  I am the oldest of two girls born to parents, Chris Martheze (born in Ngawi, East Java) and Joyce Bakkers Leidelmeyer (born in Djakarta).  I am a single mother of three kids, who I have continued to raise around the same beliefs and upbringing that I had.  It has always been very important for me to preserve that part of our heritage for my children because it helps to shape our identity as adults and give us a sense of belonging.  So happy and proud to be an Indo.

Hi everyone my name Is Victor Vander Geugten. I am Dutch-Indonesian. I was born in the city of Angels (Los Angeles CA) which makes me a native SoCal Indo. My Mom & Dad came to America in 1959 & moved to La Crescenta CA. I am still living in the area to this day. Love my Heritage, Love the food& Love my People.

I’m  Kaila Uli, a third generation Indo. I was born and raised in Southern Ca with my 5 siblings.

I don’t know much about my family’s history before immigrating. It’s not something we talked about very often.  I know Oma and Opa had to leave Indonesia for The Netherlands prior to coming to the U.S. My Oma, Yvonne Bogaardt, and Opa, Ronald Dumas, immigrated to the U.S. separately. They met and married here. We were raised knowing we were Dutch-Indonesian, but not understanding what that meant. I had no idea there were more Indos. I always assumed Oma and Opa’s stories were exclusive to them. My Great Opa, who we called ‘little Opa’ would tell the story of being in a war camp and stealing grease from the train axles to cook rice cakes and sell back to the guards. He used the money buy peanuts to feed the elephants.

I’m so grateful and proud to be part of this group working to preserve our history and keep the stories alive for future generations.

I am Joey Van der Linden, 3rd  Generation Indo. I was born and raised in The Hague. My family moved to Southern California in 1988. After years of schooling, hard work and the support from my mother and father I have become a International Registered Vascular Specialist at a local trauma hospital for 10+ years. I am a devoted father and family man. For the past 6 years I’ve been a member of the American Poolplayers Association and the United Poolplayers Association.My mother is Lizzy Kraag, born in Jakarta, Indonesia. She came to Holland when she was 4 years old, then moved to New Guinea, and then back to Holland 2 years later to live in The Hague.

My father is Theo van der Linden, a Dutchman from The Hague. He used to work at Stichting Pelita, reading stories from war victims, especially those who were Dutch Indonesians to help determine if these victims qualified for financial assistance from the Dutch Government, it was called the WUBO and the WIF., Uitkering.

There is another fact I’d like to share with the world because I’m so proud of it… my great-great grandfather was once painted by Vincent van Gogh. His name was Jozef Blok. That painting is shown in V. van Gogh art books. It’s truly an honor being part of the So Cal Indo organization, San Gabriel Valley Chapter. I am committed to help educate others of our Indo heritage. With the help from my new So Cal Indo family, together we can make a difference in our So Cal Indo world. Again, I love living in Southern California, but a piece of me will always be in the country where I was born… The Netherlands

My name is Jason Schmidt Weymans Arlington, I was born in Texas and raised in Hawaii then California. I come from a large Indo family. I feel fortunate and blessed that my Opa and Oma had the opportunity, strength, and courage to uproot themselves and their six children to start a new future for all of us.

I am proud that I was raised American, leaving the nest to serve our country… I am also fortunate that I was raised with music and Indo values and respect for our families and friends as a pure 3rd generation Indo. I truly believe that these great morals are bread into us naturally. Awareness of our Heritage and traditions mean a great deal to me. Thank you very much for participating in our organization and helping us keep our Indo awareness alive.

You are family. I am just like you. I have trials and tribulations. I am a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a cousin, a Nephew, an Oom, and a friend. We welcome you with an embrace. We all look forward to sharing and can’t wait to know all of our Indo families.