Nicolaas Pieter van Duykeren was born August 11, 1925 in Paramaribo Suriname, South America.
He was an artist and a musician. He played almost all instruments by ear, he never knew how to read music. And because he knew how to play real well, a man offered him a job with the Phil Harmonic Orchestra. Was mostly a commercial artist for conventions.
A movie company came to Suriname to make a Rock Hudson picture, "The Spiral Road". And because dad was one of the only sign painters there they asked him to paint all the signs for the movie. The art director told him to look him up when he came to California, but he never found him. Met and married mom in 1958. My mom was visiting Suriname with her sister Tara, turned out they were staying in a house next door to dad and his friend.
I was born in 1966, we moved to Anaheim, California in 1967, I was 4 months old, my brother was born 2 years later. We lived behind Disneyland for about 5 years, dad took me there when I was 3, it was just us, the neighbor downstairs gave us tickets because he was one of the 3 little pigs.
Dad got a job as a commercial Artist for a company that pained signs for conventions, so we got a lot of free tickets. He worked for almost 30 years before he retired up north to Redding. Even after he retired he still did a lot of painting and making stars for people.
After a few years he had a few health problems. Triple by-pass, Pancreas Cancer, benign. And was good for a few more years. Then developed Parkinson's.
He liked to always be in the kitchen, he would be up early making dinner. (Yes, dinner). Because he would make Indian and Dutch food and it took along time. We would sometimes have the family over so he would be there all day. I would help with cutting and chopping. Sometimes. So now I cook. Not very good, but I try.
I remember when I was little my dad always made me a doll cake for my birthday and brought it to school for my class. Sometimes he made ice cream clown cones. But I remember the doll cakes more.
Every Saturday I go with him to the store to buy food, sometimes he would buy me an Angel Food Cake. Yumm, I miss that.
Dad was also doing things without telling us. He bought the house in Anaheim and a car.
After I moved down to San Diego. he started having new problems. Liver and kidney failure, trouble breathing, had to be on life support off and on for a while, rehab for a while too off and on, a few years this was going on until he had to stay in the hospital.
December 13, 2012 he lost his battle.
I'm glad of one thing. That I gave him a grandson. Richmond Nicolas Arguilla.
He was an artist and a musician. He played almost all instruments by ear, he never knew how to read music. And because he knew how to play real well, a man offered him a job with the Phil Harmonic Orchestra. Was mostly a commercial artist for conventions.
A movie company came to Suriname to make a Rock Hudson picture, "The Spiral Road". And because dad was one of the only sign painters there they asked him to paint all the signs for the movie. The art director told him to look him up when he came to California, but he never found him. Met and married mom in 1958. My mom was visiting Suriname with her sister Tara, turned out they were staying in a house next door to dad and his friend.
I was born in 1966, we moved to Anaheim, California in 1967, I was 4 months old, my brother was born 2 years later. We lived behind Disneyland for about 5 years, dad took me there when I was 3, it was just us, the neighbor downstairs gave us tickets because he was one of the 3 little pigs.
Dad got a job as a commercial Artist for a company that pained signs for conventions, so we got a lot of free tickets. He worked for almost 30 years before he retired up north to Redding. Even after he retired he still did a lot of painting and making stars for people.
After a few years he had a few health problems. Triple by-pass, Pancreas Cancer, benign. And was good for a few more years. Then developed Parkinson's.
He liked to always be in the kitchen, he would be up early making dinner. (Yes, dinner). Because he would make Indian and Dutch food and it took along time. We would sometimes have the family over so he would be there all day. I would help with cutting and chopping. Sometimes. So now I cook. Not very good, but I try.
I remember when I was little my dad always made me a doll cake for my birthday and brought it to school for my class. Sometimes he made ice cream clown cones. But I remember the doll cakes more.
Every Saturday I go with him to the store to buy food, sometimes he would buy me an Angel Food Cake. Yumm, I miss that.
Dad was also doing things without telling us. He bought the house in Anaheim and a car.
After I moved down to San Diego. he started having new problems. Liver and kidney failure, trouble breathing, had to be on life support off and on for a while, rehab for a while too off and on, a few years this was going on until he had to stay in the hospital.
December 13, 2012 he lost his battle.
I'm glad of one thing. That I gave him a grandson. Richmond Nicolas Arguilla.
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