Tieleman, Henry W.

Henry W. Tieleman is elected to the Democratic haven where his candidates always win, where Democracy Prevails, and the wind always blows. From his birth on May 26, 1933 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Hendrik Willem was a determined individual. His father (Caspar Cornelius Tieleman), a judge in Rotterdam, died when Hein was nine months old and from then on his mother, Anna Tieleman de Jong was in charge. He and his sister Catherine (1928-1999) were part of a happy household in Oegstheest with summers on the beach at Noordwijk.

Then World War II intervened and the next five years were difficult. School was interrupted, food was scarce, and the last winter in western Holland the family subsisted on tulip bulbs and sugar beets cooked into porridge. When the war was over Henry completed high school. In the summers he worked on a Dutch tulip farm and liked working with the soil. So when he made a choice of careers he wanted to be a farmer. His mother said, “If you want to be a farmer, be a good farmer,” and he enrolled in Agriculture School in Dordrecht. Somewhere along the line, there was a stint in the Dutch army. He never expounded on that and I think it was a relief when he was once again a civilian. By this time, he was ready to farm and it was time to emigrate.

The popular emigration choices from Holland in the 1950’s were United States, Australia and Canada. Canada welcomed him warmly and he worked hard on a farm. After a winter working construction in the uranium mines he decided to go back to school and followed his dream of agriculture. At Ontario Agriculture College he excelled and soon found his precision was well suited to engineering. After a year at the University of Toronto he became a Professional Engineer, iron ring and all; he furthered his career with a Master’s degree from the University of Iowa, and a PhD from Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was appointed to the faculty of Virginia Tech in the department of Engineering Science and Mechanics and spent his academic life there. His research on wind behavior with full scale measurements was funded by NASA and NIST. Thirty years later he was honored with the title Professor Emeritus and continued with research activities, including writing a text book, until his recent health issues intervened. That was his professional life.

Personally, he met his wife Fran in Guelph when they were both undergraduates. They were married in 1962 and their union lasted for the rest of his life. Two children, Anne, and Michael were born and they are part of the story. Anne, a research food scientist, is married to Greg Buliga and they have two children, John (1997) and Katharine (1998). Michael teaches mathematics at Anoka Technical College in Minneapolis and has two children, Will (1999) and Ara Rose (2001).

Along the path of life, Henry had many phases. He liked to work with wood and build furniture, did home building and remodeling. He became a day sailor. There was a stamp collecting phase, a satellite television business phase, a gardening obsession, an avid Auburn High School athletics booster, and finally a political interest that resulted in Democracy Prevails, a Political Action Committee he founded in 2004.

He always said he liked to say “I go on vacation every day when I go home.” Home and family were very important to him. He loved being a part of the Riner community and especially the Buffalo and More restaurant. His long life was productive, entertaining and worthwhile. We will miss him.

Survivors are Anne and Greg Buliga of Langhorne Pennsylvania; and their children, John and Katharine, Michael, Will and Ara Tieleman, of Minneapolis; surviving in the Netherlands are two nephews, Marten and Cas Schreuder; in Hamilton, Ontario, a sister-in-law, Elizabeth Wildman Cockburn; assorted nieces and nephews (considerably more nieces than nephews).

The family values your presence above all, but if you want to memorialize Henry, in lieu of flowers, consider supporting a new hospice house planned in Blacksburg. The contact information is Sojourn Center PO Box 295 Blacksburg, VA 24063 SojournCenter@gmail.com.

The family will be at home this Sunday and Monday afternoons, January 14 and 15, 2018 from 3 to 6 p.m. at their house in Riner (3822 Five Points Road). Please join us then to remember Henry. His big Celebration of Life will be on May 26, 2018, in the garden in Riner. All are welcome.