Is this the oldest triplets in Antwerp? Monique, Irene and Walter have been inseparable for 85 years (Left Bank)
Oysters, cod fillet, Black Angus, bubbles: according to good tradition, Monique, Irene and Walter De Grim celebrated their 85th birthday in An’s Hoeve on the Wandeldijk on the Left Bank. Or they are not the oldest triplets in the province of Antwerp – we think they are after consulting our archive – but they are certainly the most beautiful.
Kristin Matthyssen
June 14, 1937. At home in the Oudesteenweg near Sint-Jansplein, Monique’s parents, Irene and Walter were prepared for the arrival of twins. Good luck to the couple who had had to deliver a stillborn child five years earlier. During the home birth with the doctor’s assistance, first Monique was born, then Irene and to everyone’s surprise, another son, Walter, followed shortly after. “He was so gallant that he first let the girls go first,” laughs Monique, who lives in Berchem. Irene lives in Halle-Zoersel and Walter on Linkeroever. All three were there in half an hour. And even tougher: all three with a birth weight of more than two kilos.
In February 1945, father De Grim was killed in a bombing raid on the Brouwersvliet, where his parents had a café. Fortunately, mother had a lot of support from her parents to further raise the triplets. The bond between the three is very strong. They call daily. “Sometimes I’m on the phone with Monique,” says Irene, “and the phone rings and it’s Walter.”
telepathy
Certainly the sisters have the special almost telepathic bond multiples sometimes witness. “It happens that our Monique has a toothache in the morning, and I get a toothache in the afternoon, without knowing each other”, says Irene. Walter also has strong anecdotes about his sisters. “It happened that they both bought the same glasses and the same dress, but separately without knowing it, in different ones.”
Monique also has such an anecdote. “I once bought my husband a pink pullover, and Irene had bought the exact same one for her husband! Or the time I bought a coat on the Meir in the morning and bought Irene in the afternoon. Haven’t you been here for that mantelpiece already?the saleswoman asked. No, that must have been my sister!said Irene. We used to be like two drops of water. That was difficult for the teacher at school.” All three took their solemn communion together in St. Amand’s Church.
Monique is widowed, just like Walter. Walter has a son Exploring, Monique has a daughter, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Irene is the sugar aunt. How come they still look so radiant at 85? It turns out that Monique is still going to play tennis at ‘den Beerschot’ twice a week. Irene walks with her dog. “Our Walter is not sporty”, the sisters say in unison. But he is their rock in the surf who they can always count on, and that all their lives.
Perhaps another reason why all three still look so patent: they have worked hard as independent entrepreneurs. Monique had a sugar bean factory in Wilrijk, De Bock confectionery, Irene had a laundromat in Deurne and Walter had an independent port company.
Because not all present can be present, parties are still coming.