ROLAND GREEFKES: OBITUARY

It is with great sadness that the family and friends of Roland Cornelius Greefkes announce his death on August 17, 2021 at Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York. He died from complications of a fall.

In the late 1980’s Roland bought 44 acres of beautiful mountainous land in Gilbertsville, New York. It was his pride and joy. He built his smithy under the Aesthetica name established by his grandfather and later used by his father, both smithies. Before settling in he became reacquainted with his future wife, Charlotte Zoe Walker, who had at her death a 35-year teaching career in the English department at NY State University, where she taught creative writing and Women’s studies. She was also a published author of novels, short stories and essays. Along with her son, David, a building contractor, they built a magical treehouse-like house named Hummingbird House where they lived for the remainder of their lives. Friends and family gathered there for reunions, picnics, pond parties, camp-outs and lively conversations. Charlotte and Roland enjoyed the natural beauty of the land with all the enchanting animals, birds and foliage. They created a sanctuary for birds, cultivated butterfly-loving plants and fed the local deer until they had 27 regular visitors, which ended that practice.

Roland was born in The Hague, Netherlands on May 27, 1941. He was the son of Cornelius Greefkes, the foremost blacksmith in the Netherlands after World War II, and Maria Johanna Veltman, a homemaker. He grew up in a building that housed his father’s smithy, Aesthica, and was on the same block as the Royal Palace where he and his older sister, Louise bicycled when they were children. Their former home is now an upscale restaurant. The story goes that the paternal grandmother encouraged her seven sons to follow into their father’s footsteps, becoming smiths instead of farmers. They pretty much monopolized the art smithy trade in the Netherlands. A seeker, traveler and wanderer, Roland eschewed the family business, although at various times when he needed money and missed his family and homeland, Roland would apprentice himself to his father. A wise and generous soul, his father understood Roland’s need to find his own way and had inscribed on the hood of his coal fired forge the saying “If a father desires that his son follow too closely in his footsteps, his son will lose his way”.

During Roland’s lifetime he tried his hand at various endeavors. He ran a coffeehouse in Amsterdam, where he lived on a houseboat, was a hotel manager in Grenada, West Indies, did art restoration and made whimsical stained glass. He was also a chemical engineer for Goodyear Tire Co. after having completed a degree at the University of Toronto in 1968. Although he enjoyed barreling through the hills in Canada in his Jaguar, he became bored with chemical engineering and the 9 to 5 routine. Deciding that exploring the world was more interesting, he quit. With his flute, backpack and beloved diary, he spent the next seven years traveling in the Middle East, North Africa and India. During this search for a greater meaning of life, he discovered Swami Muktananda at the Siddha yoga ashram in India. He felt he had found a truly enlightened being and learned a great deal from Muktananda’s intimate talks and spiritual guidance. It was there that he met his first wife, Helen Frederick, a printmaker/papermaker and art teacher. They moved to New York City and were married at the Siddha Center there. They briefly lived Upstate while Helen taught at Hartwick College, then moved to Baltimore where he built a studio for Helen and found work in art restoration at the National Gallery, among other institutions. When the marriage ended, he returned upstate.

Roland was a master blacksmith, integrating the techniques he learned from his father with his own inventions and a more modern aesthetic. He was overjoyed when his father proclaimed his son had surpassed him in both technique and design. His enchanting work was very personal, reflecting his love of nature and the natural world; integrating frogs, monkeys, birds, flowers, etc. with mystical elements. Ranging in size and importance, his work went from the monumental gate he made for Yoko Ono to hinges for Ommegang brewery. Commissions included fire screens for Bette Middler, Blythe Danner and Bruce Paltrow, a garden gate in Tasmania for the Australian fantasy writer, Sara Douglass, a table for the Eagles guitarist Don Felder, lamps, candlesticks, rails for various churches along the East Coast, etc. He joked that he loved working for “the Stars”. His belief that his work was more play than work is reflected in the vitality, humor and joy in his work.

Roland was a good friend who maintained life-long friendships throughout the world. At times, his exterior could be curmudgeonly, belying a kind, generous, thoughtful, amusing and wise interior. Throughout his life, he was a spiritual seeker, as was Charlotte. They chanted every day. They both found nurturance and solace at the Karma Ling Buddhist Retreat Center in Delhi, New York, where their ashes are interred. Charlotte died Jan.1st with Roland holding her hand. They were a very close and committed couple sharing in their love of nature, family, traveling, hiking, reading, laughing and socializing. In part, Roland undoubtedly died of a broken heart.

Roland is survived by his family in Holland; his sister Louise (Loes) Maria Margaretha Greefkes, her children Simone and Patrick van Eechoud and Simone’s daughter Chloe Theodorakakis. He is also survived by Charlotte’s family, who welcomed him as one of their own. They include Charlotte’s two daughters Rebecca and Rachel Mendez; five grandchildren Ariel, Eli, Sam, and Zoe Mendez who are David Mendez’s children and Cassius Oldenburg, Rachel’s son. David died several years ago.