JOANNES JOZEF “JAN” DE BOER

NEW HAVEN — Joannes Jozef “Jan” de Boer, 83, passed away peacefully with his family by his side at his home in New Haven Jan. 14, 2026, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Jan was born in Westwoud, the Netherlands on March 21, 1942, son of Piet and Trien de Boer.

Jan is survived by his wife of 51 years, Tinie; and children, Cristy Harding and her husband Martin of Brandon, Vt.; Joris Jan de Boer of Panton, Vt.; Annemarie de Boer of New Haven, Vt.; Hans de Boer and wife Michelle of Elmore, Vt.; and daughter-in-law Anja Wurm of Waltham, Vt. He was the beloved Opa to his grandchildren, Matthew and his wife Mickayla, Johan and his wife Pamela, Axel, Mariska, Allegra and Matheo; and Opa two to his great-grandchildren Mason, Markus and Natalie. He is also survived by 13 siblings and their spouses, Tinie’s 7 siblings and their spouses, as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his parents (Piet & Trien), his in-laws (Joh & Trien Krul), brothers Cees, Arie and Jan Joris, and brother-in-law Koos Smit.

As son, Hans, so eloquently wrote:

“Trying to figure out what to say: it’s been a very long journey. You’ve traveled far and you’ve successfully hauled more than your fair share of the load. You’ve overcome a lot of obstacles along the way, but you’ve always recovered, stood back up tall and kept going; always carrying more than your fair share regardless of what it cost you in the moment.

But we’ve come to the point where the machine isn’t running so good anymore. It’s not just a head gasket, and doing the valves, or replacing some gears in the transmission…This time, we have a knock in the crank shaft, the main seals are leaking, the heads have been warped too much from pushing the engine, and we’ve already shaved them down past their tolerance. All we can do now is pour in enough fluids to idle you back home; let you rest and idle down and decide when we turn the key off for the last time.

You’ve gone more miles than most could imagine possible and done things that most wouldn’t try and succeeded. Thanks for showing us what it means to be determined and to focus on the goals.

Thank you for teaching each of us how to be a good person, the difference between right and wrong, how to treat others with respect and how to not waste time on people who don’t deserve our respect.

I appreciate you.”

Jan’s final days were spent at home, where he enjoyed making improvements and “playing” each and every day. Since he requested that we hold no services, we will instead be doing a celebration of his life at the farm on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at 2 p.m. All friends and family are welcome to come join us. ◊