From fighting Nazis in the second world war to travelling the world as a medical and pharmaceutical officer on ships, Jean lived a great life.
Initiated in 1973 in Mariners Lodge No. 67 and raised in 1975, he was a Mason for 46 years. He affiliated into Washington Lodge No. 21 in 1995 and this eventually became his primary lodge.
Heroics in the war
Between 1940 to 1944, when Jean was only 16-years-old, he smuggled allied pilots and Jewish families out of Nazi territory. In an interview to Historiek magazine, Jean recounted the amazing yet dangerous trips he made to aid the resistance.
“My father was on the platform looking out and I accompanied the pilot; if I saw German police on the train I would get up and as long as I stayed seated it was safe. Not a word was exchanged.”
He was involved in at least three attacks on the SS and Wehrmacht – the armed forces of Nazi Germany. Jean is arrested and imprisoned at Sicherheitsdienst in Arnhem. One day, in the darkness of the night, a badly beaten man joins Jean as his cellmate. As daylight pierces through their prison window, Jean realizes that the tortured man is his father, Ernest.
I do not “know why he was arrested. That must have been the last time I saw him.”
Ernest was a member of the Free Netherlands group and was executed soon after with seven other members in reprisal for attacks on German soldiers.
After the war
Jean made a promise to God that he would walk to Rome from the Netherlands should he survive the war. And he did. Well almost.
Officers at the customs office laughed at his idea and advised that God wouldn’t mind if Jean took a ride and in short four days he was in Vatican. He did, however, walk all the way back to the Netherlands which took a month and Jean was screaming of exhaustion by the end of journey.
Bottom line, Jean says, that “never believe the people who say that God will forgive something easily.”
He studied law in Lieden, Netherlands, and was offered a mining job in Africa. It is there that he married an American and relocated to the U.S. But it is in America that he met the love of his life Elvia, now 56 years ago. He trained as a medical and pharmaceutical officer on ships which gave him the opportunity to travel the world.
“I really enjoyed the seafaring life and I have seen a lot of the world. But every year I came to the Netherlands for my mother’s birthday, on December 22.”
Masonic life
Jean was an exemplar to the brothers of Washington Lodge No. 21. His hard work and we must say his sacrifices for the lodge were unmatched and we can say with confidence that always will be. He took Masonic teachings or morality and brotherly love to heart and genuinely practiced them in his life. We have reached out to his family to assure that we are here for them. Jean expressed an interest in a Masonic funeral and brothers of the craft will perform the Masonic Memorial Service on Sunday, Feb 28 in Brooklyn.
Chairman of the Custodians of the Work and Past Master of Mariners Lodge said that when he was being recruited into the district leadership and had some misgivings as to the financial expectations since he was making his main living as a performing artist at the time, Jean offered to defray some of his expenses as he thought it was important that his Mother Lodge had a “seat at that table.”
Jean pioneered Masons online presence. VW Bro. Trevor W. McKeown, former Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia & Yukon wrote:
“Global Fraternal Network with the full support of the Grand Lodge of New York, the Global Fraternal Network (GFN) was established in 1994 by Richard A. Newman and Jean Rene van Geuns when they developed ‘Virtual Internet Lodge No. 1’—a password protected website—although a domain was not registered and uploaded until 1996. Starting in 1993 with a bulletin board of about 58 participants, thirteen years later the GFN reported more than 17,000 members.”
Washington Lodge celebrated his accomplishments with a testimonial dinner in 2015 under the leadership of Past Master Isaiah McNabb.
Jean René died peacefully during the early hours of Thursday, Feb 18, 2021. He was 96-years-old and is survived by his wife Elvia and daughter Danielle. May he rest in peace.