Alumni in love: Koos Brouwers & Sonja Brouwers - De Vries
Koos Brouwers (80), pharmacy (1963-1971), PhD in medicine at the UVA (1981); worked as a hospital pharmacist/clinical pharmacologist and was professor of pharmacotherapy at the RUG from 1991 to 2009, among other things; www.brouwerspharma.eu
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Sonja Brouwers - De Vries (75), educational sciences (1967-1975); was a.o. a teacher at the pedagogical academy and chairman of the national examination board for pabo's, currently volunteer at museum Belvédère in Oranjewoud
Relationship since: Sneekweek 1966 / married: 28 December 1970 / four children: Arjen (52), Joosje and Jonneke (49), Jasper-Hugo (40) / seven grandchildren
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Koos
‘After my studies, I immediately had to enter military service. In the service, you could get twice the salary if you were married. So I told Sonja "Son, we're getting married!" We borrowed the clothes from friends, a captain's suit and an Indian sari. You can drape a sari around your body, so it always fits. We bought the cheapest gold rings we could find. In those days I was a minimalist and non-conformist. Being the naive idealist that I was, I even sympathized with the PSP (Pacifist Socialist Party).
We were dating before Sonja started studying at the RUG. During my studies, I was asked to become a temporary chemistry teacher at the Rijks-Hbs (National Higher Civic School) in Sneek. Sonja was a student at that school. I was 22, and she was 17 - a teacher and an underage student. Now it would be grounds for dismissal. I had Sonja in my sights. I’m into blondes and thought, 'She looks nice.' She was feisty and intelligent. It’s always nice to be able to have a conversation with someone who's intellectually on the same level. Not that I was madly in love or lying awake at night. It happened very gradually. Amicable.
After 14 months, I was released early from service to become a hospital pharmacist at the Wilhelmina Gasthuis in Amsterdam. There was a shortage of hospital pharmacists. Sonja didn't want to live in Amsterdam, so we went to Hoorn. A house on the IJsselmeer, taking the catamaran out on the water when the weather was nice. In hindsight, the best period of our lives.
From Hoorn, we went to Ede and then Heerenveen, always because of my work. In 2017-2018, I spent a few months as an acting hospital pharmacist in Curaçao. I have written more than 500 articles, including around 200 for international audiences, as well as chapters in 12 books. I am still working hard. Sonja is indispensable in this. She edits and corrects what I write. I write ‘quickly and dirty’. She is very precise.
In my opinion, the secret to a long marriage like ours is giving each other space and allowing each other to have things for themselves. If Sonja wants to go to Paris, she goes to Paris. It is also essential that you share everything about the children. Sonja was actually nicer to the children than I was. I could lose patience at times.
These days, sport is the order of the day with us. To keep fit and for fun. I play tennis with people over 80 and badminton in a club. I ride my mountain bike in the woods where we live, which I don't do with Sonja. My wife is in great shape, I take it a bit easier. As a young boy, I was a pretty good gymnast. Flikflaks, somersaults. I was known as ‘Koos Splits’. I still do the splits, on demand. Or bend over and then my hands flat on the floor with my knees outstretched.'
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Sonja
'I said yes when Koos proposed getting married, we knew each other long enough. But actually, I did feel pressured, because of that salary. Look at the flowers I'm holding in my hand in that photo. A simple bunch of chrysanthemums from the market.
Koos was a chemistry teacher at our secondary school in Sneek. I had no lessons from him; I did hbs-a. He struck up a conversation with me at the coffee bar De Witte Kat. I think he had found out through the grapevine that I came there with friends. I certainly didn't like him right away. Koos was very stubborn. He said things that made me think: Is he trying to trick me now? ‘‘What kind of boy is that?’ my mother asked when he stood in front of our house one day. ‘He looks like a pastor, with that long trenchcoat and those silly glasses.’
Gradually, I began to find him fascinating. He was very different from most boys who had only simple interests, like going out at weekends and acting tough. Koos liked modern jazz, and museums and he wrote poetry, all things that were not yet in my system, but which I wanted to experience. The first kiss was when he brought me home in the Sneekweek of 1966.
First, we had a weekend wedding. Koos had to serve in the military. I was still studying and was a student assistant. I was alone in our little house on Bloemstraat. Even before I graduated, I was pregnant and three years later we had twins. That was quite a shock. I wanted to build a career, and maybe do a second study. But suddenly I had three children. Plus a workaholic next to me who was going for a PhD and who was at the hospital until late at night, working more than 60 hours a week. Koos cooked during the weekends, but most of the housework and childcare still fell on me. Sometimes I really thought, "I'm going to pack my bags." That's no secret either; we talk about everything with each other, and we always have.
Above all, life with Koos is original. He always has nice ideas. We travelled far away, to Hawaii, Canada, Curaçao and Vietnam. In Vietnam, Koos guided an education project. Through him, I came into fascinating environments. I came into contact with people on a scientific level, which taught me things myself. That is why I know quite a lot about medical matters.
Since 2004, I have enjoyed volunteering at Museum Belvédère, where we live nearby. And I am an avid sportsman. Koos and I cycle and play badminton and tennis, but mountain biking is something I do with a friend. That is quite intensive. Every little hill we come across we tackle.'
Last modified: | 14 February 2025 10.40 a.m. |