PIET THOENES:

in memoriam

Pier Thoenes, who has died recently, was a popular and important co.chairman of the IHEU 1975-1978}. He had a distinguished academic career as a social scientist, writing over 40 books and articles. Howard Radest, also a former co-chairman of the IHEU, writes about his friend:

HUMANISTS around the world will be saddened to learn of the death of Piet Thoenes. He and I served as co-chairs of the IHEU. I can recall his never-failing good humour particularly when board meetings - as board meetings often do - were more like bored meetings. He would lean over and whisper some bit of nonsense to me and I, in turn, could stop being as 'serious' as the 'chairman' is supposed to be. At the same time, Piet was a very serious social scientist, social critic and humanist as indeed his research and numerous publications on community and social organisation demonstrate.

He was and remained a socialist even when socialism became unpopular and the 'free-market' became everyone's solution to the world's problems. A kindly sceptic, he was never a dogmatist and had little use for either sloppy thinking or ideological rigidity. A teacher, he never failed to respond to a request for suggestion or criticism as I found out when I shared some of my writing with him. Most important of all, as I learned when Rita and I entertained them in our home in the U.S. and when we visited Piet and Remke in Holland, he had a lively interest in his students, who were in and out of his home and they had a deep and affectionate respect for him.

We learn most about people when they are not making speeches or presiding at conferences. Thus, after Piet left the chairmanship of IHEU, he and I continued to correspond and to see each other whenever possible. I can recall his love of music. When driving home from a meeting or conference, he filled the car with music, singing at the top of his lungs a mix of popular music, folk tunes and classical melodies and insisting that all of us join in. He had a love of beautiful things, good food, and the joys of living. I remember the last time we saw each other at the Florida in 1992 in Amsterdam. Already showing signs of illness - he was short of breath and could not walk as much as he liked to and wanted to - I could see in his eyes his response to the beauty of the flowers, shrubs and trees that filled the exhibition grounds.

Piet was one of a group of Dutch humanists who served IHEU well, a worthy member of the group that included Jaap Van Praag, Bert Schwarz and Rob Tielman. It was my privilege to know him and work with him. Unassuming and modest, he is probably not very well-known to must humanists around the world. Yet, we all, owe him a debt of gratitude for his efforts on behalf of our international movement. I shall miss him, his humour and laughter, his gentle but incisive criticism, and above all his ability to puncture the pretensions of those who take themselves too seriously.