Pieter J. Hoets

1921 - 2014
Pieter J. Hoets, a resident of Darien, CT for the past 31 years, passed away peacefully on August 28, 2014, at Stamford Hospital, CT. He was 93 years old.

Pieter was born on April 24, 1921 in The Hague, The Netherlands. He was the second child of the late Pieter P. H. Hoets and the late Jeannette Hoets- Semster of The Hague and formerly of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. His older brother was the late Dr. Hendrik W. Hoets of Apeldoorn, The Netherlands.

Pieter grew up in The Hague and attended The Netherlands Lyceum high school. After graduating, he studied law at the University of Leiden. In response to Nazi Germany's invasion of The Netherlands in May 1940, Pieter joined the Dutch Resistance. Pieter gathered intelligence for the Allies, eluding Nazi capture. In London, England, he joined The Netherlands East Indies Army, as as a Second Lieutenant, under Allied Command.

From 1947 - 1949, he attended Yale Law School. In 1953, he married Grace De Decker of The Hague. The next year, they immigrated to the United States, where they naturalized as American citizens. As the general counsel of the Coca-Cola Export Corporation, he worked in New York, N.Y. and eventually transferred to London, England. After retiring from the Coca-Cola Corporation, he worked as an attorney at the law firms of Jones Day and Reid and Priest in New York, N.Y. Afterwards, he joined an international legal team commissioned by the Philippines Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), recovering a portion of the ill-gotten wealth that the former Philippines dictator F. Marcos had accumulated in secret bank accounts around the globe.

He was the former president of The Netherland Club of New York, N.Y., president of the Anne Frank Center, New York, N.Y., and member of the Netherland – America Foundation, New York, N.Y. In addition, he was a member of the Tokeneke Club, Darien, CT, the Darien Senior Men's Club, the Special Forces Club, London, England, and The Hague Cricket and Soccer Club. He was an active member of the Englandvaarders Association.

Pieter was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Orange – Nassau, under Royal Dutch patronage. For his efforts in WWII, The Netherlands awarded him the 1940-1945 War Cross, the Cross of Merritt, and the Resistance Memorial Cross. He was also awarded the Cross of the European Confederation of Former Combatants.

Pieter authored five books published in the Dutch language: Vrijgevaren! (1976), Englandspiel Ontmaskerd (1990), Spookspoor naar Moskou (1996), De Yale Connection (2000), and Buitengaats! (2006).

He is survived by his loving wife, Grace Hoets – De Decker of Darien, CT and his two sons, Hendrik Hoets of Westport, CT, and Anthony Hoets of New York, N.Y., and two grandchildren J. Hoets, and P. Hoets. In addition, he is survived by his nephew, Pieter A. Hoets of New Canaan, CT, and niece, Hetteke Hoets of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in his name to Darien EMS Post 53, P.O. Box 2066, Darien, CT, 06820.