BIOGRAPHY

Rie Duijkersloot was born in Limmen, North Holland, Netherlands, on 2 March 1909. Her father, Jaap Duijkersloot, passed away when she was just six years old, at the age of 42. This left her mother, Catherina Duijkersloot-Nuijens, widowed with five children, the youngest only six weeks old. After three years as a single mother, Catherina married Engel Valkering, a widower with five children of his own.

Rie Duijkersloot never married. She earned her driver’s license at the age of 47 and continued driving until the age of 95. She taught sewing lessons to many women, typically aged 25 and older, in a small wooden building. Her expertise came from her training at a fashion school in Alkmaar, where she honed her skills. In The Hague, she earned certifications in various disciplines, including lingerie making, lingerie teaching, costume making, seamstress work, and seamstress instruction. At one point, the local mayor approached her with a request to teach needlework at the public school in Limmen. While needlework at the Catholic school in Limmen was taught by nuns, the public school had no instructor. Rie was intrigued by the opportunity and decided to pursue the necessary qualifications. Every Saturday, she traveled to Amsterdam to work toward her certificate, studying under the nuns of the Order of Providence. She passed the exam and began teaching needlework to 14 girls one morning a week. This marked the start of her career as a professional needlework teacher. Later, she expanded her teaching to include handicrafts, spending one day a week at the public Rembrandt School in Akersloot. She continued working there until her retirement at the age of 65.

Her mother, Catherina, lived to the age of 82. After her mother’s passing, Rie, then 58, continued living on Hogeweg with her younger sister, Nel, who was four years her junior. They remained in the house for three more years, but it required significant renovations. When an apartment became available in a retirement home on Lage Weide, the sisters decided to move. Rie and Nel spent many years at Lage Weide before Nel moved to the Cameren care center. Nel lived there for five years, while Rie stayed in the old Cameren facility for only six months. When the care center was rebuilt, the sisters moved into the new facility, each with her own apartment. Nel passed away on 4 February 2005, just three months after the move. Rie celebrated her 100th birthday in Bakkum with a grand party attended by 60 guests.

RECOGNITION

Duijkersloot’s age was verified by Marco Wikkerink and validated by the ESO on 25 May 2021.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Rie Duijkersloot 100 jaar” – De Castricummer, 4 March 2009

* “Noord-Hollands oudste vrouw Rie Duijkersloot (110) is overleden: “Ze miste haar leeftijdsgenoten”” – NH Nieuws, 22 June 2019

GALLERY