Gerritje "Gerry" Covell

July 11, 1931 - January 23, 2015

COLEBROOK – Mrs. Gerritje “Gerry” Covell, 83, of Colebrook, passed away at her home on Friday evening, Jan. 23, 2015, surrounded by her family and caretakers, and after a long period of ill health. She was born in Rotterdam, Holland, on July 11, 1931, a daughter to the late Pieter and Adriana Maria (Boele) van Dijk. She was raised and educated in Rotterdam, in the same neighborhood as Anne Frank, and witnessed as a young girl, with all Dutch people, the suffering of her country under German occupation during World War II. After the war, she met and married a young U.S. Army soldier who was stationed in Holland, and they had two children prior to emigrating to the U.S. and raising their family in Colebrook. Gerry worked for a time at Lambert’s grocery store in the produce department, which she enjoyed very much, and she was the bookkeeper for her husband’s truck repair business for all of its years. She was a voracious reader and also enjoyed doing crossword puzzles. Gerry will be remembered by many as always smiling and riding her bicycle around town, She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Walter F. Covell, Sr., of Colebrook; her son, Walter Covell and wife Joanne of Whitefield, NH; her youngest daughter, Audie Porter and husband Mark of Colebrook; four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by a daughter, Lois Hughes, in 2007, and by two sisters in The Netherlands. There are no public calling hours. A graveside service will be held at the Colebrook Village Cemetery at a later date in the spring, of which notice will be given. Expressions of sympathy in memory of Mrs. Covell may be made to one’s choice of the Kiwanis Club of Colebrook, P.O. Box 241, Colebrook, NH 03576; or to the Northwoods Home Health & Hospice, 120 Main St., Colebrook, NH 03576. Condolences may be offered to the family on-line by going to www.jenkinsnewman.com. Funeral arrangements in NH are under the direction of Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home in Colebrook.