In the early 1950s, a wonderful thing happened to Elisabeth – she met the love of her life, Alex Christiaans. Thereafter, she entered trade school and majored in Hospitality Services.
Elisabeth was born and raised in the capital city of Amsterdam, where she attended the area schools and graduated from Amsterdam High School. However, on September 29, 1929, their lives were brightened with the birth of their daughter, Elisabeth Marie. For Hendricus and Geertruida Maria (Wittmarschin) Koopmanschap, life in the Netherlands was no different.
The Great Depression threatened people’s jobs, their savings, even their homes and farms. From her early days in Amsterdam through her wonderful life with husband, Alex, and her children to her final days as a loving grandmother, Elisabeth Christiaans knew that true hospitality began in the heart.įor many Americans, the widespread prosperity of the 1920s ended abruptly with the stock market crash of 1929, and the great economic depression that followed. Great satisfaction can be found in the meaning of relationships and how we all play such an important role in the lives of our family and those we meet as we journey through life.
