Final farewell for Wim van der Leegte

Over 1,100 guests bade farewell to Wim van der Leegte on Saturday afternoon. In Het Duysels Huys, the church in Duizel that Wim van der Leegte purchased two years ago and has made available to the local community, 300 invited guests attended the funeral on Saturday.

Photo caption: The funeral of Wim van der Leegte took place at Het Duysels Huys on Saturday.

During the dignified and impressive farewell, several personal speeches were given by, among others, Wim's brother, children, and grandchildren, as well as by chairman Peter Wennink of the Eindhovensche Fabrikantenkring (EFK) and VDL's president-commissioner Louis Deterink.

VDL TIM Hapert

Due to the limited capacity of the church, over 800 other guests a few kilometres away, at VDL TIM Hapert, followed the farewell via a live stream. The approximately 16,000 employees working at the more than 100 companies of VDL Groep in 19 countries who were not at one of the two locations also had the opportunity to follow the funeral via a live stream at their workplace.

Photo caption: Over 800 guests attended the funeral on Saturday via live stream in the factory hall of VDL TIM Hapert at the KBP in Hapert.

Final farewell

After the funeral in the church, Wim van der Leegte traveled from his stud farm in Hoogeloon to Hapert. The funeral procession visited the VDL companies in Hapert, where many colleagues paid their last respects to their employer. The guests who attended the funeral at VDL TIM Hapert also paid Wim a final farewell. Wim was escorted over the red carpet by his loved ones, flanked by the over 1,100 guests who had gathered in the factory hall. Wim was greeted there with loud and warm applause. Afterwards, Wim van der Leegte was buried privately.

Photo caption: To loud applause, the more than 1,100 guests paid their final respects to Wim van der Leegte.

Family Van der Leegte: “We are deeply saddened by this sudden loss. Our dad was first and foremost a wonderful husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather to us. He has meant a lot to many people. We feel strengthened by the many expressions of sympathy and want to thank everyone sincerely for that.”