Theodorus "Teddy" Verheyen

June 27, 2019

Theodorus “Teddy” A. Verheyen passed away on June 27, 2019 at the age of 84. He lived much of his life in the United States in Tarrytown, NY before moving to Red Hook, NY in 2017. Teddy was born in the town of Noordwijkerhout on March 14, 1935 to Antonius (Toon) Hubertus Verheijen and Johanna (Anna) Gerarda de Haart in the province of South Holland of The Netherlands. He was the third child in a family of seven children. During WWII, Teddy’s father was drafted into the military and it fell on Teddy to make money to help support the family. While barely a teenager, he quit school, went to work, and then went to night school to learn a trade. He eventually graduated from the Marine Engineering School in Leiden, The Netherlands, and was hired as a marine engineer, sailing on a freight boat which took him to many countries, including Scotland, France, Spain, Canada and the United States. He emigrated to Canada at age 24, and by 1962 came to California where he joined the Unification Church in Los Angeles in 1963 as one of its founding members. In 1965, he was sent as a missionary to The Netherlands. On March 21, 1965, he arrived at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam at the age of 30 with a suitcase and very little money. While living at the Amsterdam Salvation Army, he was able to translate the church’s holy book - The Divine Principle - into Dutch, a feat that greatly helped his missionary work. When he got married on March 28, 1969 to Pauline Phillips, also a founding church member in the United States, he had been living and preaching out of a house boat on the Amsterdam canal for several years Although they started with humble beginnings, he and Pauline built up the Dutch church considerably in the next eight years. In 1970, with the help from the Vanderstock family, they purchased Huize Glory (Glory House), a castle-like manor located in Bergen aan Zee, a seaside town in North Holland. This became the new center of the Unification Church in The Netherlands. From there, Teddy and Pauline managed the Dutch church and sent the first church missionaries to South Africa, Israel, Greece, Iran and Indonesia. Teddy, along with Pauline, continued to serve as the national leaders in The Netherlands, expanding their membership until they were asked to come to the United States in 1977. While in the U.S., Teddy served as a teacher, leader and counselor of a multinational evangelical team of 70 members. He also managed to get his Masters degree in Religious Education at the Unification Theological Seminary in Barrytown. Since graduating, he has been a guest teacher at many different universities, and eventually used this education and much independent research to write “The Deviation and Restoration of the Human Race,” a theological treatise that proposes to answer many of the fundamental questions about life and the universe that were posed to him while he worked as a church leader. Published in 2006, his book is currently in institutions in more than 120 countries around the world, and has inspired countless people to live better lives. Teddy is survived by his daughters Naeran Rubio and Tweeran Verheyen and grandchildren Lilly, Daniel, Nari and Lara, who currently live in New York State. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Visiting will be held Friday, July 5th from 8:00 am continuing overnight until Saturday, July 6th at 9:00 am. Funeral Service will take place on Saturday, July 6th at 9:00 am at the funeral home chapel. Burial will follow at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, NY.