My grandparents

 
 

These are my beloved grandparents
Tan Er Nie & Gan Koen Beng
(Christian name: Patricia)                 (Christian name: David
                                                                        Indonesian name: Santoso Muljadi)

Gan Koen Beng

My grandfather Gan Koen Beng was born 1906 in Purbalingga in their house next to Toko Gan.
The street names have always changed. Now the street is Jalan Jendral Sudirman, their house used to be No. 35.
Gan Koen Beng's father was working in their own shop Toko Gan, while his mom Theng Luis Nio stayed at home. Gan Koen Beng had a little brother called Gan Koen .....
My grandfather did't remember his father Gan Thian Bo anymore because he died when my grandfather
was 3 (?) years old.
His brother died after drowning in a whirl in a lake (Kali Klawing) where they learned swimming.
An American man, who worked as an English teacher in their own "Gan English school" tried to
safe him, but he got drowned by himself.
(He planned to marry his fiancee in USA after 2 weeks).
 

Gan Koen Beng planned to go to Singgapore in order to study. He already bought a new bycicle and
his suitcase was ready, when he saw his mother crying because she would be alone.
Instead of going to Singapore the next month, he stayed in Purbalingga and worked at the Toko Gan.
He often went to a candy shop where he saw a beautiful girl, known as the "rose of Purbalingga" because of her beauty. She was 6 years younger than him and her name was Tan Er Nie. My grandmother.
Because my grandfather was a hobby photographer, he often went to her school where he took photos of her.
In 1930 they married, my grandfather was 24, my grandmother 18.

Gan Koen Beng, my grandfather was a very active man.
He was always friendly and soft, but still he was energetic and organized many parties.
For many parties, he made his own music for his jazz band. He himself played piano, violine and trumpet.
Behind their house was the tennis court of the Gan family (actually it belonged to Gan Koen Se) where he often played tennis. As a young man he also learned Kung Fu by a master from China.
My grandmother also played tennis after she knew my grandfather.
Furthermore, my grandfather was a good in athletic and he loved to decorate and to paint. Once, he got a medal for an athletic competition.
Although he didn't study he learned by himself how to build houses. He got some orders in town and outside the town, where he worked as an architect.
His children and grandchildren ganiend the love for art and music.
 

Tan Er Nie

My grandmother was born 1912 in Purbalingga.
She had 4 sisters and 1 brother, 2 of them are still alive. Her sisters are Tan Er Lie, Tan Er Mie, Tan Er Ma, Tan Er Hwa. Her brother was Tan Hian Sun, but he died when he was a child.
(Tan Er Hwa is living in Jakarta now, Tan Ermie in Purbalingga).
As a child she often stayed at her relatives' home so her way to school would not be too far.
Her parents Tan Beng Tjay and Oey Bola Nio owned a candy shop and they lived in the Southern part of Purbalingga near the railway station.

My grandmom's first child, a boy, died right after his birth. While she was in her room, the doctor asked my grandfather "only your wife or your son can survive after the birth, who should be safed?"
My grandfather answered "my wife, of course".
After that she was pregnant with her 2nd child. It was my mother Gan Eveline
(now Evi Winata, *Nov, 1934).
Later their sons Gan Tiong Giap (*1938) and Gan Tiong Hin (*1947), and their youngest child Gan Jessy (*1950) were born.
(My beloved aunty passed away after a car accident in Jakarta, Jago Rawi 21st August 99).

My grandmother Tan Er Nie sold cookies and cakes. Every morning she baked a lot of cakes and her maid, called Nadem, walked around the town to sell them.
She loved to read and she also learned to play piano from my granddad.
During the 70's she got a stroke and it wasn't easy for her to walk.
After my grandfather's death, she sold her house in Purbalingga and moved to Jakarta, where she lived together with my aunt Jessy's family.
My grandmother Tan Ernie suddenly but peacefully died 1992 in Jakarta. She is buried together with my grandfather Gan Koen Beng in Bandung, Cipageran - Cimahi.
 

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The family of my grandparents