Exclusive: Ivo Niehe in conversation with Toos, widow of Gerrit van der Valk

Even after the death of hotel magnate Gerrit van der Valk in 2009, his birthday does not go unnoticed within his family. On June 13 he would have turned 94 and that was reason for the family to pay a tribute to his widow Toos (91) on this day.

Big family

‘It is unbelievable for me to experience all of that. Really true. I love life. If I have such a big family and get so much love from that family, then it’s okay if you’re 91.” And the family is indeed big. If everyone is present on, for example, Toos’ birthday, it is even crowded in the enormous family villa in Nuland in Brabant! Toos herself had seven children with her great love Gerrit. The two met when she was seventeen. Gerrit drove in his open car and saw Toos walking. Their eyes met, love struck and they would always be together. And their seven children also expanded their families considerably. ‘I have 38 grandchildren,’ Toos tells Ivo. “Nineteen grandsons and nineteen granddaughters. I also have 42 great-grandchildren. They all get together on my birthday. And that’s quite a lot together, you know!’

Cherry on the applesauce

Many people were surprised when it turned out that King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima with their daughters Amalia, Alexia and Ariane spent the evening and night prior to King’s Day this year in the Van der Valk Hotel in Maastricht. Toos also knew nothing about it! ‘That was news to me. And I was very pleased that they did that.’ Of course, the Oranges were not in line that evening at the buffet in Maastricht. The hotel chain also has a number of more exclusive locations. When Ivo notices that the days of the well-known applesauce with the cherry in the branches of the hotel chain seem to belong to the past, he is immediately called to order by Toos. ‘Don’t forget the applesauce and the cherry. I would say: let it continue now, that is really something that belongs to Van der Valk.’