Nel C. A. Dekker

Nel Dekker, age 93, of McCandless Township, PA, died on Friday, February 17, of natural causes following several years of dementia. Her husband of 60 years, Dr. Andrew Dekker, died in 2016. She is survived by her children and their spouses, Martin and Patricia Dekker, of Mars, PA; Tom and Michelle Dekker, of Durham, NC; and Carolyn and Chris Lech of Simsbury, CT; and by her grandchildren, Courtney and Caitlin Dekker; Eliza and Anneke Dekker; and Natalie, Allyson, and Drew Lech.

Born Pietronella Cornelia Adriana Rijken in Nieuwe Pekela, the Netherlands, on November 23, 1929, “Nel” was the youngest of four children born to Dr. Hermanus Rijken and Cornelia Rijken-Michaël. Nel’s happy childhood was cut short when the Germans invaded Holland in May 1940. Schools closed, and she and other children were transported in the back of large trucks to dig potatoes for the Germans. Her older brothers went into hiding so as not to be forced into labor camps. Nel’s father died in 1946, not long after the war ended, and the family moved to the nearby city of Groningen where Nel completed her schooling. She was working as a medical technologist in Groningen when she met the Dutch-born American medical student, Andrew Dekker, at a carnival. After many miles of bicycle riding together, they were married in Groningen on July 25,1956.

Upon Andrew’s graduation from medical school in 1958, the couple moved to Brooklyn, NY, and Waltham, MA, where Andrew completed his medical training. Nel taught herself English by listening to the radio and television. Nel and Andrew started their family in Waltham and moved to the North Hills of Pittsburgh in 1963, when Andrew took a job as the staff pathologist at UMPC-Presbyterian Hospital. Nel was a devoted wife and mother who expected her children to dress well, work hard in school (A=effort), and keep active outdoors. She was a loving grandmother, always there with warm hugs and warm slices of homemade zucchini bread. Nel and Andrew’s lifelong and loving marriage instilled in their family the importance of steadfast support.

Nel was sociable and stylish. She was a gracious hostess who loved sitting with friends and family having a pot of tea and cookies and happy conversation. She was a gifted athlete who enjoyed bicycling, hiking, and especially swimming, which she pursued into her late 70s. She was natural ice skater, having grown up skating on the canals in Holland. Nel was a serious bridge player and longtime member of the American Contract Bridge League where she ranked as a Sectional Master. Nel was an accomplished knitter, having learned to knit in school when the girls had to stay inside and knit during recess while the boys went outside to play. She also enjoyed needlepoint and rug hooking. When her children were older she returned to work for several years at St. Barnabas as a medical technologist.

She and Andrew liked to travel, especially to the seashore. They spent a year in Rotterdam on sabbatical in 1985-86. But most of all Nel loved the North Hills of Pittsburgh, where she made her home for 60 years. Nel and Andrew were early members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the North Hills. She was a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The family would like to thank those who provided loving care for Nel in the last years of her life: all the staff at Sunrise of McCandless; Cindy Elsesser, her private caregiver; and Elisa Mancu and Catherine Probert of Bridges Hospice.

A memorial service for Nel will be held on Saturday, February 25, at 10:30 a.m., at H. P. Brandt Funeral Home, 1032 Perry Highway, Pittsburgh, PA 15237.

Those contemplating a remembrance are asked to consider, in lieu of flowers, Bridges Hospice, 4130 Monroeville Blvd. Monroeville, PA 15146, or online at bridgeshospice.org (http://bridgeshospice.org/)

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