Matthew Bellin Obituary

I am very sad Matthew Bellin passed away as a victim of the corona virus.

Matthew had a brilliant mind. He was curious, adventurous, enthusiastic, eccentric, and interested in almost everything. He spoke fluent French and taught himself the basics of many other languages, which was helpful during his many, many wanderings in the Old World.

One of these wanderings brought him to the Netherlands. My father Matthew Bellin and my Dutch mother Ank Dullemond fell in love there in 1965. I was born in 1966 and I grew up as an only child with a loving single mother. Matthew visited us a few times, between 1977 and 1982.

On February 7, 2020, my dear mother Ank died, aged 84. On April 5, 2020, a miracle happened. I found out that my father Matthew was still alive! I am so grateful that we found each other after 38 years. We were able to talk and express our love. At the time, we were not aware that this was only a few days before he would die. Thus we were reunited, just in time, after a long and confusing period of distance in time and space.

Dear Matthew, you and Ank gave us, me and my offspring, our lives. We inherited our unknown part of an uncertain future. We can assure you, we'll live our lives as music makers, as the movers and the shakers of your favorite poem Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy.

Rest in peace, Matthew, well done.

Your loving daughter,
Janneke Dullemond