Monday, November 2, 2015
Uncle Charles 1893-1915
Cousins and Uncle El: I found another picture of Uncle Charles (the name sake of Charles Harold Van Zee) and wanted to share as Uncle Elbert had asked for pictures of him. He was a handsome man and I can feel for Grandma Mae as she lost her brother when he as 22 years old.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Uncle El gave me a copy of a page that shows Uncle Charles was born in 1893 and died in 1915 (22 yrs old). Grandma Mae was born May 5, 1891 and died Oct 29, 1970. I believe Uncle Clarence, their brother, was older than Grandma Mae.
Cousins: Uncle Harold was named after U. Charles as you probably know. He died in Sacramento from heat stroke, or so I remember being told.
Grandma Anna VZ Ford brought Grandma Mae, U. Charles and U. Clarence from East Orange, N.J. to Orangevale, CA possibly around 1900. Grandma Anna lived with her sister Margaret Van Zee Nakken on her family's orchard. Margaret VZ Nakken is buried near Grandma Mae at East Lawn. Anna and Margaret were two of the "seven sisters" born to Peter DeForkett Van Zee and his second wife.
And Grandma Anna and Grampa Anthony were brother and sister; that's how Grandma Mae and Grandpa Bill were first cousins. There is a picture of them all holding infant Uncle Harold in front of the house the G. Bill and G. Anthony built on 34th Street in Sacramento.
I also posted on the blog a copy of Grandpa Bill's birth certificate, born August 26, 1887 at his parent's home, 243 Franklin Ave., Brooklyn, NY. And a picture of William "Will" Wood Van Zee, age 25, and his father (me) standing in front of that house. William lived in this same neighborhood of Brooklyn (called Bedford Stuyvesant) during his four years attending Pratt Institute art school, and now lives a few blocks away.
I'll try to draw a family tree diagram.
Peter deForkett Van Zee->Anthony VZ (1852- Oct. 19, 1924)->William Anthony Van Zee->C.Harold, KenW., ElbertFord, Audrey DeLancey
->Anna VZ Ford (1863- 1944)-> Mae Ford Van Zee (married William Anthony Van Zee 1918)->Margaret VZ Nakken (1848-1931)->five other sisters and five other brothers (some died at birth or early childhood).
Lots of Van Zee and May family history in Brooklyn and East Orange N.J. that we may have lost now. Ken and Maxine drove Grandma Mae to N.J when John was 1, in 1953. We may not have made a connection since then.
Monday, April 20, 2015
William and father Cal in front of W's namesake birthplace, 243 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NYAma
Amazing that this house is still standing. William went to school at Pratt Institute a few blocks from this house and now lives a few blocks away. This was taken in Oct, 2014. William now goes by "Will" which is what Grandma Mae called Grandpa Bill.
Grandpa Bill's birth certificate
Grandpa Bill's birth certificate- where he is named Anthony Van Zee, Born Aug 26th, 1887. Place of birth, 246 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY. Mother- Harriet E. Van Zee, madien name Harriet May (as Grandma Mae was originally named and later changed the spelling), age 33, birthplace U.S. Father Anthony Van Zee, occupation, carpenter, age 34, birthplace, U.S.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Ken's obituary
Below is the obituary published in the Sacramento Bee for my Dad:
VAN ZEE, Kenneth William.
Age 89 passed away from us September 20, 2008. Born May 16, 1919, as the second of four children to William Anthony and Mae Ford Van Zee, he was a life-long resident of Sacramento, except for three years spent in the Army. He lived for fifty-eight years in his home less than two miles from the house where he was born. Ken married Maxine Williams of Lavonia, GA, in 1946 and celebrated fifty-four anniversaries before her death in 2001. A loyal forty-year employee of Pacific Gas & Electric Company, his career was interrupted by WWII and he was, at one time, a supervisor of over 400 employees. Born into his beloved Fremont Presbyterian Church, twice elected a governing Elder, he most recently sang in the Saints Alive Choir. Ken is survived by his brother Elbert F. Van Zee; his two sons, John William Van Zee and Calvin James Van Zee; five grandchildren, Kaitlin Elizabeth Van Zee, Sarah Emily Van Zee, William Wood Van Zee, Audrey Norella Van Zee and Virginia Mae Van Zee; and two loving daughters-in-law, Melinda Davis Van Zee and Judith Drake Wood. His sister, Audrey DeLancey, and his brother, the Rev. C. Harold Van Zee preceded him in death. Memorial services will be held 11am Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at Fremont Presbyterian Church, 5770 Carlson Drive, Sacramento, CA 95819. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Fremont Presbyterian Church Music Program. Friends and family are invited to post stories about Ken at http://kenvanz ee.blogspot.com/.
VAN ZEE, Kenneth William.
Age 89 passed away from us September 20, 2008. Born May 16, 1919, as the second of four children to William Anthony and Mae Ford Van Zee, he was a life-long resident of Sacramento, except for three years spent in the Army. He lived for fifty-eight years in his home less than two miles from the house where he was born. Ken married Maxine Williams of Lavonia, GA, in 1946 and celebrated fifty-four anniversaries before her death in 2001. A loyal forty-year employee of Pacific Gas & Electric Company, his career was interrupted by WWII and he was, at one time, a supervisor of over 400 employees. Born into his beloved Fremont Presbyterian Church, twice elected a governing Elder, he most recently sang in the Saints Alive Choir. Ken is survived by his brother Elbert F. Van Zee; his two sons, John William Van Zee and Calvin James Van Zee; five grandchildren, Kaitlin Elizabeth Van Zee, Sarah Emily Van Zee, William Wood Van Zee, Audrey Norella Van Zee and Virginia Mae Van Zee; and two loving daughters-in-law, Melinda Davis Van Zee and Judith Drake Wood. His sister, Audrey DeLancey, and his brother, the Rev. C. Harold Van Zee preceded him in death. Memorial services will be held 11am Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at Fremont Presbyterian Church, 5770 Carlson Drive, Sacramento, CA 95819. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Fremont Presbyterian Church Music Program. Friends and family are invited to post stories about Ken at http://kenvanz ee.blogspot.com/.
Ken's Memorial
We held Ken's memorial at Fremont Presbyterian Church on Wed Nov 26, 2008. My brother John's wife, Melinda, his daughter's, Kaitlin and Sarah, and my son William all flew from the East coast to attend. My wife Judith and my daugher's Virginia and Audrey flew from Seattle. My Aunt Gerry, Harold's wife, was escorted by her son from Medford, my cousin Bruce. And Ken's surviving brother, El and his wife Mary also attended. Nearly all of my cousins on Ken's side were present. After the memorial we held a family gravesite service where Ken's cremains were placed into the plot where my Mother Maxine was buried. On Thursday John's and my family, all nine of us, ate Thanksgiving dinner together at Ken's house. Judith's mother, Ida and her partner Nita, a close family friend, were also there.
Below is the euology I wrote and presented for Ken at the memorial.
Eulogy for Ken Van Zee
Nov 26, 2008
Fremont Presbyterian Church
Sacramento, CA
I am Ken’s Seattle son, and standing next to me is my wife Judith who will help me if I’m unable to finish my remembrance for my father.
Thank you all for being here today: Dr. Willson, Jeanne Wallis, Bob Hearst and the Saints Alive choir, Sue Mooney and the Navigators Marinership, and Ken’s friends. When Ken flew up to Seattle in late June and we visited with his doctors, one of his primary goals for his heart surgery was to return here to his spiritual home to be with you all and sing again with the Saints Alive Choir.
Returning to my childhood church floods my mind with so many memories: the 36th and J St church; the construction of this church; from singing in the Cherub choir to the high school-college choir; and, reading from this lectern. My Dad was born into this church and Fremont was a huge part of his life. He loved you all dearly.
My father was a beautiful man. After looking at his childhood, adolescent and early adult photographs this week, it’s difficult to describe specific attributes of his physical beauty. As a mature adult though, my mother mentioned that strangers often mistook Ken for Jimmy Stewart, the actor- not my idea of masculine beauty, but apparently my mother thought so. As he became an elder I came to admire his physical beauty; his full shock of brilliant white hair was attractive and endeared him to his nurses in Seattle; some called him their boyfriend.
But Ken’s beauty was only a manifestation of his strongest attribute, his endearing kindness. Dr. Willson told us that he had only known my Dad for a year and a half, and of all of the people he has met, he said he didn’t know if he had ever met a kinder man. This is what attracted people to my Dad. When he asked people how they were, he wasn’t satisfied with small talk- he genuinely wanted to know their joys and concerns. Ken was so grateful for his life, for any success of his own, or for others. He was a child of the Great Depression, 10 years old at the market crash in 1929. For his entire adolescence, until he was drafted in 1943, a time when his values were imprinted, he experienced periods of unemployment with his father, who was a carpenter. He must have listened to stories of other families suffering more than his, and from those stories he learned to be grateful. These life lessons and his service during the Second World War, afford us to say, with a reverence we hope our children will understand, that he was a member of “the Greatest Generation.”
The remembrances of one son of a carpenter, led me to the stories about The son of another carpenter, a Jewish carpenter. Directed by Dr. Willson and the ministers at my Seattle church, I began a quest to find an appropriate Bible story that reflected my thoughts about my Dad. My search resulted in the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi printed in your Order of Service, and to the Gospel of Luke, specifically the Beatitudes, or the Blessings. The Beatitudes are part of a collection of sermons of Jesus of Nazareth, also recorded by Matthew, known as the Sermon on the Mount. The Lord’s Prayer, which we will say together at the end of this service, is also part of the Sermon on the Mount. Luke’s version resonates for me as some Biblical scholars believe his words were closer to those of Jesus. These teachings are also viewed by some as Jesus’ interpretation of the Laws of Moses, better known at the Ten Commandments. I will read only the first three Blessings from Luke 6: starting at verse 20:. Here’s what Jesus said:
1. Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.
2. Blessed are you that hunger now for you will be satisfied.
3. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.
Rather than the King James version of the “Blessed are” phrase, the original Greek writing was a more emphatic “Congratulations.” Congratulations, you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.
These were radical words in their day and also have profound meaning in our current financial crisis. As it was then, and is now normal to congratulate the prosperous and happy, Jesus was congratulating the poor, hungry and sorrowful. In this teaching, Jesus reminds us that God’s kingdom is invisible and everywhere, always present inside the hearts of those who love and care for others.
My father was a true disciple of his savior, practicing His teachings though kindness and compassion for those he met. He deeply cared for others with an openheart. For those simple acts of selflessness, he was seen by others as a beautiful man.
Kindness and beauty.
These are my Dad’s gift to us.
Thank you.
Below is the euology I wrote and presented for Ken at the memorial.
Eulogy for Ken Van Zee
Nov 26, 2008
Fremont Presbyterian Church
Sacramento, CA
I am Ken’s Seattle son, and standing next to me is my wife Judith who will help me if I’m unable to finish my remembrance for my father.
Thank you all for being here today: Dr. Willson, Jeanne Wallis, Bob Hearst and the Saints Alive choir, Sue Mooney and the Navigators Marinership, and Ken’s friends. When Ken flew up to Seattle in late June and we visited with his doctors, one of his primary goals for his heart surgery was to return here to his spiritual home to be with you all and sing again with the Saints Alive Choir.
Returning to my childhood church floods my mind with so many memories: the 36th and J St church; the construction of this church; from singing in the Cherub choir to the high school-college choir; and, reading from this lectern. My Dad was born into this church and Fremont was a huge part of his life. He loved you all dearly.
My father was a beautiful man. After looking at his childhood, adolescent and early adult photographs this week, it’s difficult to describe specific attributes of his physical beauty. As a mature adult though, my mother mentioned that strangers often mistook Ken for Jimmy Stewart, the actor- not my idea of masculine beauty, but apparently my mother thought so. As he became an elder I came to admire his physical beauty; his full shock of brilliant white hair was attractive and endeared him to his nurses in Seattle; some called him their boyfriend.
But Ken’s beauty was only a manifestation of his strongest attribute, his endearing kindness. Dr. Willson told us that he had only known my Dad for a year and a half, and of all of the people he has met, he said he didn’t know if he had ever met a kinder man. This is what attracted people to my Dad. When he asked people how they were, he wasn’t satisfied with small talk- he genuinely wanted to know their joys and concerns. Ken was so grateful for his life, for any success of his own, or for others. He was a child of the Great Depression, 10 years old at the market crash in 1929. For his entire adolescence, until he was drafted in 1943, a time when his values were imprinted, he experienced periods of unemployment with his father, who was a carpenter. He must have listened to stories of other families suffering more than his, and from those stories he learned to be grateful. These life lessons and his service during the Second World War, afford us to say, with a reverence we hope our children will understand, that he was a member of “the Greatest Generation.”
The remembrances of one son of a carpenter, led me to the stories about The son of another carpenter, a Jewish carpenter. Directed by Dr. Willson and the ministers at my Seattle church, I began a quest to find an appropriate Bible story that reflected my thoughts about my Dad. My search resulted in the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi printed in your Order of Service, and to the Gospel of Luke, specifically the Beatitudes, or the Blessings. The Beatitudes are part of a collection of sermons of Jesus of Nazareth, also recorded by Matthew, known as the Sermon on the Mount. The Lord’s Prayer, which we will say together at the end of this service, is also part of the Sermon on the Mount. Luke’s version resonates for me as some Biblical scholars believe his words were closer to those of Jesus. These teachings are also viewed by some as Jesus’ interpretation of the Laws of Moses, better known at the Ten Commandments. I will read only the first three Blessings from Luke 6: starting at verse 20:. Here’s what Jesus said:
1. Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.
2. Blessed are you that hunger now for you will be satisfied.
3. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.
Rather than the King James version of the “Blessed are” phrase, the original Greek writing was a more emphatic “Congratulations.” Congratulations, you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.
These were radical words in their day and also have profound meaning in our current financial crisis. As it was then, and is now normal to congratulate the prosperous and happy, Jesus was congratulating the poor, hungry and sorrowful. In this teaching, Jesus reminds us that God’s kingdom is invisible and everywhere, always present inside the hearts of those who love and care for others.
My father was a true disciple of his savior, practicing His teachings though kindness and compassion for those he met. He deeply cared for others with an openheart. For those simple acts of selflessness, he was seen by others as a beautiful man.
Kindness and beauty.
These are my Dad’s gift to us.
Thank you.
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