Case Vanderhook
Case Vanderhook, aged 83, passed away suddenly in Santa Barbara on November 27, 2019. Case, given name Cornelis Arie Clemens Hoek, was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to Arie and Bep Hoek on October 9, 1936. He was the eldest of 4 children. He spent his youth in the Netherlands and endured the bombing and occupation of his hometown of Rotterdam during WWII. At age 12 he began technical education to become a metal worker/machine fitter. At age 16 Case began working in a shipyard, and at age 19 was drafted by the Dutch Army as a machinist. At age 21, and after serving 18 months in the Dutch Army, Case found himself in search of greater opportunity. He began the process for immigration to the United States and found a sponsor in the Quakers of Santa Barbara. After attending school to become fluent in the English language, he made plans to come to America. Case left for America from the Rotterdam harbor on August 26, 1958 on the “Groote Beer,” an ocean passenger ship. Once in America, he secured a job one week later with Jostens of Santa Barbara. Case never returned to a life in the Netherlands and became a United States citizen in 1961. Case met Rosalind (Lin) Ament in 1960 and the two married in 1961. After Lin finished nursing school, and a brief time in Los Angeles, they decided to settle in Santa Barbara. In 1963 they had their first daughter, Tina. Their second daughter, Susan, followed in 1964. The Vanderhooks bought their first home in 1967 (still owned by the family today) and enjoyed an idyllic life that living in Santa Barbara and Goleta during the 1960s and 1970s provided. Case worked as a machinist for Applied Magnetics Corp. and Infomagnetics Technologies before opening his own machine shop, Vanderhook Machine & Manufacturing Co., in 1977. He ran the machine shop for almost 25 years until his retirement in 2001. Soon after retirement, Case and Lin, in search of less crowding and low real estate prices, moved to Santa Maria. Case loved living in Santa Maria and remained there until his death. While living in Santa Maria, Case enjoyed a second career as a real estate investor and property manager.
During his lifetime, Case enjoyed many pursuits and hobbies, including photography, gardening, home maintenance, family road trips, visits to the Netherlands, gadgets, computers, keeping up with the latest technology, bar-b-queing, baking, health and nutrition, long conversations about serious subjects as well as inconsequential chit chat, Skypeing and emailing with his Dutch family, and buying and selling cars and rental property. He especially loved to surf the internet and would spend hours researching and reading about his favorite subjects. Despite his vice for Dutch tobacco, Case enjoyed robust health for the majority of his life having never once had a surgery, been admitted to the hospital, or ridden in an ambulance.
Case is survived by his former spouse, Lin Vanderhook, and his daughters, Tina and Susan, all of Santa Barbara. He is also survived by his family in the Netherlands, sisters Joke Prins and Ria DeGroot (John), nephew, Jeroen Prins (Waya), and niece, Constance Filius (Arjen and Floor). He was predeceased by his parents, sister, Lies Hoek, brother-in-law, Wim Prins, and his best furry friend, Bo.
The family wishes to express their gratitude to the special people in Cases’s life; his next-door neighbors, Will and Rachel Smith, and their daughters, Audrey and Adrienne. The Smiths were like family to him and we are so grateful for the love and care they showed him over the last 20 years. We are very grateful to Annie Villarreal whom he enjoyed spending time and traveling with during 2019, and who was with him at the time of his passing.
At Case’s request, no funeral will be held. Memories and notes for the family may be sent to: Vanderhook Family, 5708 Hollister Avenue, #A126, Goleta, CA 93117.