Table of Contents
Berkhoudt
John Berkhoudt
+Wilhelmina Scheggetman
|-Herman Berkhoudt
|-Frederick Berkhoudt
|-Lambertus Berkhoudt
|-Clark Berkhoudt
| +Janet Summers
| |-John Berkhoudt
| |-Andrea Berkhoudt
| |-Clark Berkhoudt
| | +Barbara Williams
| | |-Kelly Berkhoudt
| | |-Jon-Erik Berkhoudt
| | | +Jessica Berkhoudt
| | |-Joshua Berkhoudt
| |-Janet Berkhoudt
| +Larry Ashcraft
| |-Joel Ashcraft
| +Kathleen Ashcraft
|-Wilhelmina Berkhoudt
| +Walter Guldenschuh
| |-Walter Guldenschuh
| | +Joan Hayes
| |-Grace Guldenschuh
| |-Yvonne Guldenschuh
| +Frank Payton
|-John Berkhoudt
|-Henry Berkhoudt
+Phyllis Tripp
John Berkhoudt, Sr.
Obituary
Funeral services will be held Wednesday for John Berkhoudt Sr., 95, a member of the Salvation Army for the last 88 years and the father and grandfather of Salvation Army officers.
Mr. Berkhoudt died Sunday in his home at 30 George St.
After joining the Salvation Army in his native Utrecht, The Netherlands, he became a member of the Buffalo Citadel Band when he moved here in 1914. He played the bass horn in the band until 1960.
Mr. Berkhoudt was a master painter at the Ellicott Square Bldg. for 37 years of service. He retired in 1959. He was a life member of Alpha Lodge 611, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
One son, Capt. Clark A. Berkhoudt, is commanding officer of the SA Tonawanda Branch. Another son, Brigadier Henry G., is director of the Army's Valley Stream (N.Y.) Home for Girls. A son-in-law, Maj. Walter S. Guldenschuh, works in the Army's men's social services division in New Milford, N.J.
Also active in Salvation Army work are a son and two daughters of Major and Mrs. Guldenschuh. The son, Capt. Walter Jr., directs the Pottstown, Pa. branch. Two daughters, Mrs. Maj. Frank Payton and Mrs. Maj. George Payton are respectively in charge of the Bronx, N.Y. Corps and the Erie, Pa. Corps with their husbands.
A granddaughter of John Berkhoudt, Andrea Berkhoudt, will graduate from the Army's officer training in New York City next June as a lieutenant.
Courier Express (Buffalo, New York), March 2, 1971
John Berkhoudt
John Clark Berkhoudt was born on September 22, 1944 and died on December 28, 2021.
Obituary
John loved being a father. His final moments were in a quiet room, with his sons on either side of him. As his son, Jared, played his kalimba, Jonathan held his father's hand. As the music concluded, John Clark Berkhoudt's last breath was taken and he entered his final peace.
John lived his life believing in peace and love, whether through his anti-war feelings or unequivocal random gestures of kindness. He served in Vietnam as a first lieutenant infantry platoon leader in the US Army. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his duty and services.
After his service in Vietnam, John resumed teaching junior high school and coaching the boy’s swim team. After a year he was recruited as an early staff member of what became the New York State United Teachers association. He worked as a Labor Relations Specialist for over thirty years. He did his master’s work at Cornell’s Industrial Labor Relations School and taught Labor Relations in their extension program.
John always referred to Ruth Wright as his first “girlfriend.” They dated briefly in the mid-60s and in August 2000, they both happened to be in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, where they literally bumped into each other. They were married (and John retired) on New Year’s Eve 2003 and John relocated to Charlotte.
John was always a positive source of loving energy for those around him. If not by cracking a joke to lighten the mood, he would go above and beyond to make someone's day extra special and memorable. For those he met, he made their day a little brighter. For those who knew him, he made their world a more interesting place. He was generous, sending gifts just because someone might like what he found. No special occasion necessary.
John was a wordsmith. He often wrote lengthy communications with clever puns and unusual word usages. He wrote two books filled with poetry, short stories, and ponderings crafted in a small notebook, in the jungle, in combat. The latest, In My Boots and Through My Eyes, was printed in early 2021.
His last weeks on this earth were met with medical hardship. After recent surgery, his body did not fare well. He developed complications and recovery was not a possibility.
He survived those last weeks with his wife at his side. On Christmas day, his step-daughter Kirsten, and her husband, Larry, along with their children, Dean and Julian spent time with him. His final few days were accompanied by Ruth and Kirsten, his sons Jared and Jonathan, his sister Janet and his brothers-in-law Larry and Stanley.
John is preceded to his heavenly home by his mother and father, Jennie and Clark Berkhoudt, sister Andrea See, niece Kelly and mother-in-law Ruth Wright. He is survived by his wife Ruth, sons Jared and Jonathan (Colleen) and their children Gretta, Cayden and Dalton; his step-daughters Kirsten and Annika and their families; his brother, Clark (Regina) and sister Janet (Larry), along with many nieces and nephews and countless others who became family through his loving embrace over the years.
John spent many summers as a camper and staff member at The Salvation Army’s Long Point Camp on Lake Seneca.
Kelly Berkhoudt
Kelly Noel Janet Berkhoudt died on August 24, 1998, and is buried in Kensico Cemetery.
Obituary
Suddenly, on Mon., Aug. 24, 1998, KELLY NOEL JANET, age 20 years, of Conshohocken, PA, daughter of Barbara (nee Williams) Cure of Conshohocken and Clark Berkhoudt of New York City, stepdaughter of Kevin Cure, sister of Joshua Berkhoudt and Jon-Erik Berkhoudt, maternal granddaughter of Majors Kenneth and Marilyn (nee Bailey) Williams of Suffren, NY, and paternal granddaughter of Major Clark and Ruth Berkhoudt, Sr. of Ocean Park, ME; also survived by several aunts, uncles and cousins. Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Funeral Service on Thurs., Aug. 27 at 11 A.M. at BOYD-HORROX OF EAST NORRITON, 200 W. Germantown Pike, Norristown, Pa. Int. will be private. Friends may call Wed. evening from 7 to 9 P.M. at the funeral home and again on Thurs. From 10 to 11 A.M. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Kelly's memory may be sent to either the American Lung Assoc., 525 Plymouth Rd., Suite 315, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 or to the Salvation Army.
The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), August 26, 1998