It was with much sadness that we learned in February of the death of Deanna Van der Velde, who had been a dedicated Director of International Newcastle CIC since 2021. Deanna was a valued friend, mentor and colleague and brought not only a wealth of experience to the Board, but also her compassion and deep commitment to make a difference to the lives of children and communities in the city and region.
At her funeral, her son, Ben, spoke with warmth about his mother and the powerhouse for good that she was, her sense of humour and her endless energy. He described how she touched the lives and work of so many people across the region through the decades and that she was a “glittering thread running through the North East”. We at International Newcastle feel honoured and privileged for that glittering thread to have run through our work and lives too. She will be much missed by everyone at International Newcastle and all who knew her and worked with her.
For decades, Deanna shared her family history and faith with countless people, groups and schools across the region to help educate people about the Holocaust and Judaism and to promote tolerance and understanding across faiths and communities. She also shared her family’s and her own language journey through the Festival’s How Languages Changed My Life series.
Deanna’s mother and father came to North East as refugees in 1938. Her mother from Berlin with her parents. Her father and two of his brothers and their families from Warsaw, setting up a paper making factory in Team Valley. Inspired by German and Yiddish at home and with a passion for languages and life, Deanna took up French trained and spent 30 years as a teacher of French in Newcastle – inspiring hundreds, if not thousands of children and young people. She continued her work in schools for the rest of her life and worked tirelessly for decades in the community and to improve society.
Amongst her many roles:
- Deanna was Chair of Newcastle Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) and member of Durham and Northumberland SACRE, advising the local authorities on all matters related to collective worship and religious education in schools.
- She was Chair of Newcastle Council of Faiths, a charity which was established to advance religious harmony and education by promoting knowledge and mutual understanding and respect of belief and practices of different religious faiths and to promote good relations between persons of different faiths.
- Deanna was also Chair of the local branch of the Council of Christians and Jews and an outreach volunteer for the United Hebrew Congregation of Newcastle working to support the Jewish community and was always involved in commemorating the Holocaust by sharing her family story, visiting schools and being part of the citywide commemorations.
- She was also Vice-President of St Oswald’s Hospice, helping to establish it and support its development helping to provide outstanding, specialist and expert care to adults and children with life limiting conditions in the North East.
RIP Deanna Van Der Velde 1943-2026