Maria (Riet) Nieuwkerk, 95, of Kennebunkport, passed away suddenly on Jan. 25, 2023, within days after her celebrating her 95th birthday with her children and grandchildren.

Riet was born on Jan. 10, 1928, in Amsterdam, Holland. She spent her early years in Amsterdam during the German occupation and survived the starvation winter of 1944. After the war, she studied to become and became a nurse.

Riet met Willem F. Nieuwkerk, MD, in Amsterdam while working as a nurse, and they wed in 1949. She raised her four children, Marjolyn, Willem, Yolanda and Knoep in Amsterdam, in Michigan, and finally in her beloved home in Cape Porpoise.

Riet was a very active person and was blessed with a strong personality and a sharp mind throughout her whole life. She was unafraid to try new hobbies. She was a classical guitar player, tennis player, skier, gardener, and furniture restorer. She was best known for designing and making jewelry and Russian Easter eggs. Her greatest joy was giving them to those she loved.

Lastly, she was a voracious reader, keeping the librarians at Graves Memorial on their toes finding historical books, which made her very knowledgeable on European history. She often enjoyed sharing this learned history and a few of her daffodils with many of her friends and family over an afternoon cup of tea and a windmill cookie overlooking Paddy Creek and Cape Porpoise’s islands.

Riet was predeceased by her husband, Willem Nieuwkerk, her sister, Geesje Gosselink and her mother, Josephine Gosselink.

Riet, a beloved wife, mother and oma, is survived by her four children, Marjolyn, Willem (and wife Debbie), Yolanda, and Knoep (and wife Lucinda); her nine grandchildren, Jennifer Nieuwkerk, Hannah Smith, Peter Nieuwkerk, Eben Nieuwkerk (and wife Pam), Elizabeth Nieuwkerk, Jake Lerner, Ben Lerner, Nick Nieuwkerk and Mariel Nieuwkerk; and her three great-grandchildren, Julia Smith, Alice Nieuwkerk and Caroline Nieuwkerk.

Friends may call from 2 to 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, at Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk. A celebration of life service will follow at 3 p.m.

Should friends desire, contributions may be made in Riet’s memory to the Louis T. Graves Memorial Library, PO Box 381, Kennebunkport, ME 04046.

To leave a message of condolence, please visit Riet’s Book of Memories at www.bibberfuneral.com.

Arrangements are entrusted to Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk.