I am sorry to announce the passing of Nico Thijssen, a long-standing friend of IFRF in its former home of IJmuiden, The Netherlands. A proud family man, Nico died at home surrounded by his family on 14 March 2023 at the age of 79, with his funeral held on Wednesday 22 March attended by around 150 people.

He became directly associated with the IFRF when he succeeded Jan van Langen as General Secretary during the early 1990s. Nico was instrumental in establishing the IFRF’s Research Station as a separate subsidiary company in the late 1990’s.He retired from his position in the Corus (or Hoogovens as it was originally known) RD&T’s IJmuiden Laboratory  RD&T’s in September 2004, but continued to act as Chairman of the Research Station Company’s Board after his retirement.

This led to a new phase in his career when he turned to another environmental theme particularly important in The Netherlands – water. Nico was elected to the Hoogheemraadschap of Rijnland – the local Water Board, where he remained a member of the board until his death.

Nico clearly had a passion for water, being a member of the Royal Rowing and Sailing Association- Het Spaarne since the age of 20. During his retirement he rowed both on Friday mornings and Saturday afternoons, apparently choosing the Saturday 15:30 slot because  according to the ‘Law of Thijssen’, the weather was always nicer on a Saturday afternoon than a Saturday morning

His sporting interests also included ice skating, cycling, rock climbing and mountaineering, and he was a keen jazz fan, enjoying the triennial performances of the IFRF Blue Flame Band. 

Words used to describe Nico are that he was active, curious, direct, interested, lively, involved, resourceful, proud, adventurous and sporty. 

My thanks go to Peter Roberts, former IFRF Director, for providing much of this information on Nico, and for those who can read Dutch, please take a look at the nice family tribute.