News of
Final farewell to Wim van der Leegte
On Saturday afternoon, over 1,100 guests gathered to say goodbye to Wim van der Leegte. 300 guests attended the funeral in Het Duysels Huys, the church in Duizel which Wim van der Leegte bought two years ago and made available to the local community.
Photo-caption: The funeral of Wim van der Leegte was held in Het Duysels Huys on Saturday.
During the dignified and impressive farewell, various eulogies were delivered by Wim's brother, children and grandchildren, as well as by Peter Wennink, Chairman of the Eindhovensche Fabrikantenkring (EFK), and Louis Deterink, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at VDL.
VDL TIM Hapert
Due to the limited capacity in the church, around 800 other guests watched the funeral on a livestream several miles away at VDL TIM Hapert. The 16,000 employees working for the more than 100 operating companies of VDL Groep in 19 countries who were not at one of these two locations were also able to follow the funeral on a livestream at their work location.
Photo-caption: Around 800 guests watched the funeral on Saturday on a livestream in the production hall of VDL TIM Hapert at the KBP in Hapert.
Final farewell
After the funeral in the church, Wim van der Leegte was driven past his stud farm in Hoogeloon to Hapert. In Hapert, the funeral procession passed the VDL companies, where many colleagues paid their last respects to their employer. The guests who had followed the funeral at VDL TIM Hapert also paid Wim their last respects. Here, Wim was accompanied by his family over the red carpet, flanked by over 1,100 guests who had gathered in the production hall. The procession was greeted with a loud and warm applause. Wim van der Leegte was then buried in a private ceremony.
Photo-caption: With loud applause, the 1,100 guests said farewell to Wim van der Leegte.
The Van der Leegte family: "We are deeply saddened by this sudden loss. Dad was above all a wonderful husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather. He meant a great deal to many people. We feel comforted by the many expressions of sympathy and would like to thank everyone for their support."