Maria Antonia (Van der Horst) Van Allen late of Dover, Delaware passed quietly and peacefully from this life late on the evening of September 24, 2017, in the presence of her daughter and son-in-law, at The Milford Center where she had been in residence for the last several months.
Maria, sometimes known to her friends here in America as “Mary”, was born on April 24, 1920 in Hilversum, Holland, where she eventually met and married Jan Van Oudenallen. Soon after their marriage the Germans invaded Holland and Jan was taken into Germany as slave labor and Maria struggled to survive in the Dutch country-side with her infant son, Arnoldus. When the war ended Maria and Arnoldus were reunited with Jan when he was eventually repatriated with the help of American troops.
Maria and Jan continued their life in Holland adding their daughter, Ingrid and another son Nico to the family. After years of enduring America’s post-WWII immigration system, Maria and her family emigrated to the United States in 1956, settling first in Patterson, N.J., and later living in Ridgewood and Ramsey. Upon becoming naturalized American citizens, the family changed its name to Van Allen, an ancient version of the family name that American’s could understand. Jan and Maria supported their family here in the States employing the skills they had learned in Europe, he as a cabinet-maker and she as a men’s tailor.
Maria, Jan and Ingrid moved to Harbeson, Delaware in 1970 where Maria and Jan owned and operated a business known as Route 5 Antiques, frequently using their European skills to restore antiques prior to sale. Soon after Jan’s death in 1986, Maria moved to Dover to live with her daughter, Ingrid, and her husband, becoming “grandma” to the couple’s German Shepherds.
Maria was an unabashed American patriot who loved her adopted country and was truly proud to be an American citizen.
Maria Antonia (Van der Horst) Van Allen was preceded in death by her husband, Jan Van Allen, her two older sisters, Wilhelmina and Johannna, and by her older brother, Nicolas. She is survived by her eldest son, Arnoldus (Freida) Van Allen of Jacksonville, Florida, her daughter Ingrid M. Sigler (John) of Dover, Delaware, and her youngest son, Nico Van Allen (Nancy) of Chandler, Arizona.
In accordance with her wishes, private services will be held at Christ Episcopal Church, in Milford, Delaware on Thursday, September 28, 2017, at 1:00 pm. Interment will follow in Christ Church Cemetery, Milford, DE.