It becomes our sad duty to report the passing of Brother Jean René Van Geuns to the Celestial Lodge Above.
Born: March 6, 1924
Initiated in Mariners Lodge No. 67: October 15, 1973
Passed in Mariners Lodge No. 67: November 28, 1973
Raised in Mariners Lodge No. 67: June 12, 1975
Worshipful Master of Mariners Lodge No. 67: 1989-1990
District Deputy Grand Master of the First Manhattan District: 1992-1994
At Rest: February 18, 2021
The Masonic Memorial originally scheduled for March 7 was postponed when a family friend tested positive for COVID-19. We will inform the Lodge when the event is rescheduled Jean René was born in The Hague, Netherlands at the onset of World War II, and later moved growing up in Java, Indonesia. Jean René and his father, a member of the Dutch Resistance, distributed extra food cards, organized attacks on German Military police, and helped transport Jewish families and stranded Allied pilots out of Holland. In an attempt to join the Dutch Free Forces in England, Jean René traveled North and was arrested and imprisoned in a concentration camp in Norway until the war ended. Jean René returned to Holland to finish his studies and earned a Law Degree from Leiden University. He traveled to East Africa to work in diamond mines in what is now Zimbabwe (formerly known as Rhodesia). Soon Jean René emigrated to the United States where he met and married his wife of 56 years, Elvia Judith Miranda, and had one daughter Danielle. Jean René had several businesses in New York and Trinidad. He enjoyed traveling, cared very much for his family, friends, and Masonic brothers. He will be remembered as a generous, caring, gentleman who had enormous integrity and a great sense of humor. Jean René is survived by his beloved wife of 56 years, Dr. Elvia J. van Geuns, Ph.D., and his daughter Danielle. Jean René often said of endeavors, "Give it hell, life is short." and while this saying may seem to be brief, the reach of Jean René's sentiment remains necessary and important coupled with his activism, courage, and bravery has shown during his life.
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