Obituary: Jeanne Roethemeyer

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Jeanne Roethemeyer, 86, of Bolingbrook, died Feb. 13, 2022. Jeanne was born in The Hague, Netherlands on Sept. 8, 1935, to Willem F. Davids and Johanna G. Bakkenes.

When Jeanne was a child, the Nazis occupied her homeland. She and her family were Holocaust survivors. She grew into a very strong woman yet was also genuinely gentle and caring.

After the war, she received her nursing and medical training in the Netherlands. She
immigrated to the United States in 1959 with three children. The family settled in Belmont,
Massachusetts. Jeanne truly enjoyed her time working as a Nurse’s Aide in the delivery room and
operating room at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For several years, she was a single mother of five, working full time and sometimes working another job.

She met and married U.S. Navy Petty Officer BT1 Paul H. Roethemeyer in 1970. They loved family
summer getaways travelling to lakeside parks, taking scenic ocean drives, and watching the
Olympics, particularly ice dancing and figure skating. She was a “Davids,” and like her father,
she loved to have fun and enjoyed playing jokes on people. When not taking care of her
family, she took pleasure in sewing, knitting, crocheting and gardening. She was an
excellent cook and relished whenever she could enjoy a rijsttafel with a Dutch Coffee or
traditional Dutch holiday food like poffertjes or saucijzenbroodjes.

Jeanne is survived by her children, Eleonora (Tom) Hernandez, of Framingham, Massachusetts; Rudy (Jane) Bouhuys, of Bolingbrook; Jim (I’tarana) Bouhuys, of Massachusetts; Michael (Cheryl) Bouhuys of Bartlett; Mark Bouhuys, of Bolingbrook; William (Mary) Roethemeyer, of Joliet; 17
grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and multiple nieces and nephews.

Jeanne was preceded in death by her husband, Paul H. Roethemeyer; parents, Willem F.
Davids and Johanna G. Bakkenes; brother, John Davids; sisters, Hans Davids De Weij and
Rivka (Wilhelmina) Davids Colje; and nephew, Ivo Colje.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to any of the following: Alzheimer’s Association, The Blue Card Project for Holocaust Survivors, and the American Heart Association.

Interment will be private.