Johannes "Johan" DeGraaf

What a joyful picture of you two. I pray your memories will be full of the blessings you shared.

Dear family, I want to share a few memories with you about my dear uncle Johan: Uncle Johan was my far away American uncle whom I rarely saw, but whom I respected. He and Fie continued to speak Dutch so well. Although they often said after a Dutch sentence: "You know". Long ago in 1983 my parents, sister and I traveled to the USA. This trip took us to my aunt To in Portland, Yellowstone and Glacier park and to Milwaukee. There we ate the American style: pizzas in a special restaurant called The Organian (?) and real American hamburgers. No Dutch food such as Brussels sprout, potatoes and tiny piece of meat. We visited 'Great America' a very big amusement park together. When we stayed in (very hot) Milwaukee for a few days we drove to the state of Michigan, where the family had rented a nice house with a jetty near a beautiful lake. We visited the Kelloggs factory, where we had to wear mouthcaps and hairnets with great hilarity. On a warm day we were standing on the jetty at the house and we were laughing an playing. Suddenly I pushed (the heavy) uncle Johan into the water. We laughed hard, but I had forgotten that he was wearing all his clothes. He climbed out of the water and checked whether his watch was still working. Fortunately it did. But he came to the conclusion that his glasses were still somewhere in the water. I dived into the water a few times and fortunately I found his glasses on the bottom of the lake. Fie and Johan also came to the Netherlands and visited our house. We ate together and it was nice to see them again. He also arranged my first iPhone. The iPhone was barely for sale in the Netherlands. Rear cousin Brandon had sold his phone to me and Johan just sent the phone in a simple envelope with bubble wrap. It's still working! When I cycled through the USA in 2016, uncle Johan followed my blog. He was interested in my trip. And called me when I visited Mary and Steve in Salem.     Back in the Netherlands, we skyped every now and then. Lately more often, because I am working on the family tree of the Poortvlieten. He knew a lot about the past. Every birthday of my or our sons he send us an E-birthdaycard. He never forgot a one birthday. Uncle Johan was a special man. With a strong opinion. We wish Fie and children and grandchildren a lot of strength these days. Willem and Marja Poortvliet (and Freek en Thijs)

Dear Fie, your smile in the picture with Johan, is just as I remembered it. I hope and pray you will be comforted in all the good memories of your long life together. You and Johan were the first friends of my parents in Milwaukee.

Dear family of Johan DeGraaf. My sympathy is with you all as you will miss a loving husband,dad and grandfather. It is great to know he is with Jesus our Savior. I knew your dad as a child;when we and your family lived on the east side of Milwaukee. Both our families had come from Holland and met through a Dutch club. I also took care of Johan several years ago when he was recovering after a day cardiac procedure. (at St. Luke's Hos.) Sincerely Maria(Harren)Fischbach

Hello family of Johan DeGraaf; My sympathies with you all; as you will miss a loving husband;dad and grandpa.. I am very glad he is with Jesus our Savior. I knew your dad as a child when our family first came from Holland....many years ago. You folks lived on the East side of Milwaukee then. I was also his nurse a number of years ago at St Lukes in the day procedure Cardiac area.sincerely. Maria(Harren) Fischbach

My condolences to the family

Maria and family-you are in my thoughts and prayers. May your memories but filled with the joyful ones of a life well lived. God bless you.

It has been a privilege to know Johan. He will have a grand home in Heaven.

So happy that I got the chance to spend time with him in bible study...he was a pleasure to be around

My condolences to the family of Johan. I had the pleasure of volunteering with Johan on occasion at the Ronald McDonald House and it was always a pleasure to talk to him. He had lots of interesting stories to share and had a heart of gold. Hugs and prayers to his family.

Johan was a remarkable man who I was fortunate enough to meet through our volunteering at Ronald McDonald House. Every time I talked to him I learned something new. He taught me many things about my own Dutch heritage (my deceased Dad also being from a family that immigrated from the Netherlands right before his birth). Our conversations also frequently covered the topics of religion, church choirs and local health care. My heart goes out to Johan's beautiful family at this time. May your memories be sweet as Johan now rests in the loving arms of our Savior.

We are so sorry for your loss! We have wonderful memories of him!! Prayers are with you!

My heart aches, as I hear of the passing of Johann. I am remembering the importance of this family to my family, especially to my parents and me. I thank them for that memory and hearing from them over the years as our lives changed. May you all feel God’s presence and peace. Accept our sympathy and love, Pat Jennings Koontz and Peter Koontz Peace to his memory.

It was my pleasure to work with Johann at the Ronald McDonald House. He talked a lot about the Netherlands as my son was there with his family for a month at the University. He was a lovely gentleman and we will all miss him.

Fie, please accept my deepest sympathy in Johan's passing. I do know where is now with his Lord. You both were important to me in my moving to Milwaukee and inviting me to dinner. I enjoyed being in the choir with Johan back then. Now I will miss his posts on FaceBook. God Bless you!