Suitbertus van der Meer

Suitbertus van der Meer, an International Banker and Fulbright Scholar, died peacefully in Cockeysville, Maryland, on September 18, 2024.
Bert was born in The Hague in the Netherlands in 1928 and became a US citizen after attending the University of Pennsylvania as a Fulbright Scholar from 1950-1951. Prior to Penn, Bert received a B.S and M.S. Civil Engineering degree at the University of Delft where he also met his wife, Annamarie, who was an architectural student there.
Bert worked as a resident engineer in Anchorage, Alaska at Tippett's, Abbett, McCarthy and Stratton and a consulting engineer at Parsons, Brinkerhoff, Quade & Douglas in New York City from 1960-65 before joining The World Bank in 1966. He went on to spend 22 years at the Bank and ultimately rose to the ranks of Division Chief before retiring in 1988. During his career, he worked all over the world in places such as Columbia, Peru, Trinidad, Jamaica, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq and Africa. He also was part of the initial review and involvement of the World Bank with the Three Gorges Dam in China.
Bert was a devoted husband of Annamarie for 68 years. Their story is a true love story, as they got married at St. Patricks Cathedral in New York despite the religious objections of Annamarie's father. They overcame the objections and had a wonderful life together and lived in the Washington D.C. area for 33 years before moving to Baltimore to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
Beyond his work accomplishments, Bert was a true gentlemen who lived life with humility, devotion and grace. He was very generous to his children and grandchildren and was a constant presence at their sporting and school events.
Aside from his wife Annamarie, Bert is survived by his daughter Marietta Kelly (George W. Kelly) and his son Peter van der Meer (Antonia D. van der Meer) and his eight grandchildren - George W. Kelly, Jr., Henry H. Kelly, Howard A. Kelly, Louisa R. Kelly, Nicholaas A. van der Meer, Natalie L. van der Meer, Theodore L. van der Meer and Tessa A. van der Meer. He also has three great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter Louisa C. van der Meer.
He will be interred at St. Gabrielle's Cemetery and a memorial will follow in the Spring of 2025.