Marijke was a beautiful and loving mother of her twin daughters, Harper and Quinn.  She was also a compassionate daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter, aunt, cousin, and friend. We remember Marijke's effervescent smile, as her sparkling spirit touched the lives of everyone whom she met.

Marijke was born on August 30, 1981 to her excited parents, Frannie and Billy. She was the older sister to Natalie and Willy. She was also one of five cousins born in one summer, and an integral part of her extended family. In 1999, she graduated Valedictorian of her high school, Linganore High School in Mount Airy, MD. In 2003 she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. from Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, WV. Throughout her pregnancy and while nursing her twins, she earned her Masters in Education from Loyola College of Baltimore. She was a Montessori preschool teacher at Butler School in Darnestown, MD, and was just beginning a second Masters in Reading Specialization at Hood College in Frederick, MD. She was looking forward to some day getting her doctorate to proceed further with her passions in her career, and to create a wonderful life for her children.

She was taken from us, and her girls, on October 25, 2007.