Berkel Family Website

Carmencita Ermantrude Berkel-Cannegieter the fourth of six children, was born on April 12, 1928 to the late Thomas Joshua and Ethel Cannegieter on the island of Anguilla.

When still of a very tender age, the family returned to the ancestral home in Cay Bay, St. Maarten, so that the children could be educated in the dutch system. Carmencita attended the former Lionel Connor School in Cole Bay, but because of her father's untimely death. She could not realize her dream of following a secondary education.

While her father was away working at Lago Oil Refinery on Aruba, her mother brought the children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. There being no resident pastor in those years, Carmencita had to wait to be baptized. In 1946, shortly after migrating to Aruba, Carmencita became a baptized member of the SDA church. She was dedicated to her church and served in the capacities of Sabbath School Superintendent, MV Leader, Pathfinder Leader and Vacation Bible School Leader. She also enjoyed singing in the church choir, and on the Sabbath afternoon she would collect and hand out Voice of Prophecy lessons.

While working in Aruba, she met and married the late Hubert Theophilus Berkel of St. Eustatius. Together they formed a Christian home. Out of this union was born five daughters Merle, Beryl, Violet, Cheryl and Annette. They instructed their children religiously and taught them to love the Lord.

Carmencita was a very independent person, when her youngest was in elementary, she learned to drive and went out to work. She loved to be in sales, and also worked at Aruba Beach Club.

Carmencita loved to travel and visited different countries e.g.

Holland, England, France, Colombia, USA, Canada, Israel and quite a few of the Caribbean islands. She loved to sew, gave sewing lessons and enjoyed cake decorating. Gardening was the love of her life.

Dona Cita as she was affectionately called by her daughters was a very progressive lady, always keeping up with the times. She was Anguillian by birth, St. Maartener by ancestry and a Statian by marriage, but because she spent forty years in Aruba she always loved to think of herself an Aruban.

In Febuary 1985 she and her husband retired on St. Eustatius, where she soon established herself in the community. She was an active member of the SDA community services.

We believe she did fit the profile of the woman in Proverbs 31 the virtuous woman.