Monday, June 29, 2020. A private family service will be held at Grove Church, North Bergen
where Ciel was a devoted member for over 60 years. An internet celebration of her life will
follow at a later date.
Born in the Netherlands in 1924 to Willem and Gepke Haenen, Ciel spent her early childhood in
Jakarta, Indonesia until the untimely death of her beloved father. In 1932 together with her
mother and younger sister Mieke they returned by ship to the Netherlands where her mother
later remarried and her youngest sister, Ans, was born. World War 2 had a big impact on her
life, and Ciel often shared many stories, about the many friends and neighbors who perished,
and about her own survival during the hunger winter of 1944 by escaping with her family to
Friesland on a donkey cart and boat under the cover of night.
Following the war, Ciel followed her passion of classical piano to study music in Cambridge.
After 2 years she returned to Holland, and became a teacher at Schoevers, a well known
secretarial school in Amsterdam. She continued her career by working at Shell Ltd. in
Amsterdam, when, one life changing day, on her way home on the train, she locked eyes with a
man wearing a top hat. Two months later she married our dad, Frans Herscheit, and followed
him to Indonesia where they lived happily until political unrest forced them to flee for their lives
with a suitcase and their beloved German Shepherd. Back in Holland, Ciel became a mother:
Paul, then Carole, were born. Always up for a life changing adventure, the decision was made
to immigrate to America. On March 20, 1960 the SS America pulled into the New York harbor
with 4 Herscheits and their dog. New Jersey became their home, and Olaf joined the family.
Ciel had a bold, indefatigable spirit that stayed with her until her last breath. She was a hard
working provider for her family. She loved her husband, her children and her pets. She loved
music, flowers, animals, the beach, clouds, and coffee ice cream. Yellow, like the yellow of the
sun, was her favorite color. She loved to sing. She could be unbelievably silly, mischievous, and
irreverent, sometimes in the most awkward places. She was, and is and will be, forever young.
Ciel is predeceased by and reunited in love with her husband, Frans Anton Herscheit, her
sister, Mieke Langeraar, and her grandson, Ryan Christopher Herscheit. She is survived by her
three children: Paul and his wife Laurie Herscheit, Carole and her partner Frank Kreukniet, Olaf
and his partner Kim Krapels; 5 beloved grandchildren and their spouses: Lauren and Andrew
Colangelo, Ian and Courtney McCracken, Kelly Herscheit, Christian McCracken, and Erin
Herscheit; and 3 great-grandchildren: Jack and Charlie Colangelo and Ryan June McCracken.
She is also survived by her sister Ans Grose and family in Auckland, New Zealand, and by her
family in the Netherlands.
Ciel loved animals. A memorial donation may be made in her honor to the humane society at
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