Rooij de Jan & Anna (Verhoeven); Father: Thomas ; Mother: Gijsberta (Haalboom)

Rooy de, Jan & Anna (Verhoeven) Kraan, Wilhelmina (Verhoeven) Verhoeven, Johanna In mid-1943, Mr. and Mrs. van Wesel were forced to flee their hiding place in Amsterdam after they were betrayed. Some non-Jewish friends took them to Jan and Anna de Rooy in Doorn, Utrecht, and told them that they would be welcome to stay there for at least a week. The van Wesels ended up staying with Jan, Anna, and their baby for an entire year. After some time in hiding with the de Rooys, Mrs. van Wesel became pregnant and panicked. “Don’t worry,” Jan told the concerned couple. “Our doctor is an excellent patriot and my sister-in-law Johanna [(Jannie) Verhoeven] is a maternity nurse. We will ask them to assist you when the time comes.” On March 29, 1944, Jaap van Wesel was born in the de Rooy’s home. Ten days later, he was taken to a hiding place in Amsterdam. After the van Wesels had been with the de Rooys for a year, Jan was called up for labor in Germany and refused to go. He went into hiding and his parents, Thomas and Gijsje (Haalboom) de Rooy*, from nearby Driebergen, took the fugitives into their home. After only a few months, this address became too dangerous and so the van Wesels returned to Doorn. There, they found shelter with Anna de Rooy’s sister, Wilhelmina Kraan-Verhoeven, until April 1945. All the members of the de Rooy family were devoutly religious Dutch Calvinists and considered it their human and religious duty to help people in need. Shortly before the liberation, the van Wesels moved to Amsterdam. After the war, they were reunited with their baby son. On February 27, 1979, Yad Vashem recognized Jan de Rooy and his wife, Anna de Rooy-Verhoeven, and Anna’s sisters, Wilhelmina Kraan-Verhoeven and Johanna Verhoeven as Righteous Among the Nations.