Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum

General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: Maggi Young on October 25, 2016, 12:19:31 PM

Title: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Maggi Young on October 25, 2016, 12:19:31 PM: Luite Cornelius Johannes van Delft - "Luggi"
27th April 1940 - 14th October 2016

"When I come back to the world,
I'll come again as a Gardener,
and the next time I live too,
since this job is too big for one lifetime."

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of Luit Van Delft. Many of you will be aware of the wonderful posts from Liut over many years about the Lisse weekly flower shows of the KVAB and of the vast bulb collection of his dear friend Cees Breed, as well as his posts telling of his own experiences and knowledge of plants. He was exceptionally generous to the SRGC and his friendly and expert advice were gratefully received and freely given. Luit, with his charming wife Vroni were a delight to know and it was wonderful to be able to welcome them to the Discussion Weekend of the SRGC when they travelled in the UK.
Luit survived serious health problems some years ago so his demise now has hit us with even greater sadness.
Ian and I - and I am sure so many more of those who had the pleasure to know Luit - send Vroni, Karin, Mike and Edwin our sincerest condolences on their loss.

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A funeral service for Luit will be held on Thursday 27 October at 1400 hours in the Crematorium Duin en Bollenstreek, Achterweg-62 Zuid in Lisse.
After the ceremony there is an opportunity to offer condolences in the coffee room of the Crematorium.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: fermi de Sousa on October 25, 2016, 12:35:29 PM: So sad to hear this, Maggi.
I so enjoyed Luit's contributions to the Forum over many years.
Recently he'd helped me with information on registering a hybrid,
cheers
fermi
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: ChrisB on October 25, 2016, 02:46:34 PM: Sad news indeed. I loved seeing his posts from the Lisse Shows, and I had the great good fortune to meet him when he came to the DW in Dumfries. I shall miss this very gentle, generous man enormously. The forum will not be the same without him. My sincere condolences to Vroni, her family and friends.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Darren on October 25, 2016, 03:30:43 PM: Like Chris, Susan and I met Luit and Vroni at a Discussion Weekend and immediately liked them both. This is so sad. We will continue to treasure the bulbs he donated to the club on that occasion, and he was a great help in identifying a mystery Phlox cultivar we grow.

We send our condolences.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Cfred72 on October 25, 2016, 05:15:34 PM: Let me express my condolences to his family and those who knew him on this forum.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: David Nicholson on October 25, 2016, 08:29:18 PM: A sad, sad loss of the 'ultimate' gentleman.

Luit and I corresponded with each other through the Forum for many years before we finally met when he and Vroni did the 'Grand Tour' through Scotland, Wales and England after the 2010 Discussion Weekend and they came came to our home. The few hours they spent with us went like minutes and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. We always said we should do it again in The Netherlands but sadly never got our combined acts together.

We kept up our correspondence though and we shared a subscription to 'The Plantsman'. Every three months a large envelope winged it's way to The Netherlands containing 'The Plantsman' together with three month's copies of 'The Garden' and Luit thoroughly enjoyed them. I shall miss doing that a great deal.

We shall of course write privately to Vroni.

God rest you Luit.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: johnw on October 25, 2016, 10:24:30 PM: How very sad. We will miss him and his generous postings to the Forum. His Lisse postings were the week's highlight and I'm glad I told him so on many occasions. Our sympathy to his family.

johnw
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Alan_b on October 25, 2016, 11:54:41 PM: I never met Luit but I loved reading the weekly postings made under his forum name, Lvandelft (which are stored here http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=1315.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=1315.0) ).
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Luc Gilgemyn on October 26, 2016, 12:28:21 AM: How sad to read this ! I will miss my warmhearted Dutch friend.
His contributions to forums his visits to meetings, his endless plantknowledge but most of all his kindness.
He drove over 200 km from his home in the Dutch Bulb belt to Gent (B) on a few occasions to attend our VRV lecture days.
My condolences to his family and friends who will all miss him.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Gerdk on October 26, 2016, 10:41:06 AM: I would like to join here - I'll never forget Luit - an extraordinary friend!

Gerd
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Armin on October 26, 2016, 07:14:44 PM: I have just returned from a business trip and have received the sad news.

I have lost a friend and brother in spirit, with the knowledge of an encyclopedia. Always inspiring and supportive.

My sincere condolences.
My thoughts are with Vroni and the family.

I'll never forget you Luit.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: shelagh on October 27, 2016, 02:30:28 PM: We also met Luite and Vronni at the Discussion Weekend and enjoyed several meals in their company. An enduring memory was that the first night we found the Hotel wine extremely expensive, the next evening Luite arrived with a plastic bag groaning with the weight of quite a few bottles of wine from the local supermarket. A friend like that is a friend indeed and one who will be sorely missed. We promptly made him a member of the East Lancs. AGS.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Maggi Young on October 27, 2016, 07:19:03 PM: From Sarastro Kreß - in Austria - Luite was my boss in 1981, when I worked in his nursery in the Netherlands. In this year I learned a lot of useful things! Nearly every year he and his wife Vroni came to visit us. And we visited them in NL. Over 30 years best friendship and outstanding knowledge from his site. Only three weeks before he died we were together and we had a nice dinner. We have lost a great plantsman!
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Maggi Young on October 27, 2016, 07:26:37 PM: From Eric Breed: Luit and Vroni visited our bulb collection many times, he lived nearby. He was of great help making documentary pictures of all tulips in early days of digital photography. Have helped sell his Oxalis collection to other commercial growers years ago.
Today we said farewell, with many people he used to meet on monday morning at weekly KAVB showroom meeting. We will try to help Vroni with the remaining collection.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Maggi Young on October 27, 2016, 09:57:54 PM: From Antoine Hoog : He was a very kind man and a skilled grower. He showed me his Dactylorhiza, when he had a stock of several dozens of square meters of a rare one and many, many Rhodhypoxis.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Lesley Cox on October 27, 2016, 11:18:01 PM: I'd like to mention here how sorry I am to hear of the so sad death of Luit van Delft. Luit's wonderful posts about his weekly flower show gave us a superb view of new plants and especially bulbs being developed and grown in Holland. Many will reach gardeners in time, even if not necessarily in this part of the world and it's always good to keep up to date about such things. I had a number of warm and friendly emails from Luit and he sent me seed occasionally as well. He loved his plants and garden and had the generous spirit of true gardeners, sharing his plants, and his knowledge and experience. His loss is great and we, as Forumists, are the poorer for his passing.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: Maggi Young on October 30, 2016, 02:00:43 PM: From Arthur Nicholls :
I remember him with great affection. I have two Thalictrum in my garden that Luit gave me in Genk - I had taken him some John Innes compost and some special compost for his Pleiones. RIP
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: ranunculus on October 31, 2016, 12:50:51 PM: I have only just heard this very sad news, Luit was a wonderful member of our alpine fraternity and such charming company on the two occasions that we met in person. Love and deepest sympathy to Vroni and family from Sue and I and everyone in the East Lancashire Group of the AGS.
Title: Re: Loss of a valued member and great friend to the SRGC
Post by: annew on November 01, 2016, 12:59:47 PM: I am very sad to hear about Luit. i had the pleasure of meeting him at a Discussion Weekend, and had several email conversations with him. Such a warm and generous personality. I will miss his contributions to the forum and send my condolences to his family and friends.