In Memoriam 1992-1997/Jeanne Kranen

In Memoriam 1992-1997 Jeanne Kranen

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JEANNE KRANEN 1907-1993

On June 13, 1993, almost eighty-six years old, a pioneer of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the truest sense of the word passed away. She had entered the Bahá’í community on August 31, 1950, in The Hague, and as "Aunt Jeanne" used to say, "The whole of The Hague hung out its flags." It was the Queen's Birthday. This little joke typified her and the way she charmed her friends, young and old. In spite of her many and serious physical problems, she was always happy, giving a cheerful "welcome" to everyone who visited her. Wherever she lived, a small sign that read "Alláh’u’Abhá, Welcome" hung directly across from her front door.

Jeanne Kranen was born in Schiedam, South Holland, the Netherlands, on June 17, 1907. Her family moved a few times before settling in 1926 in Laan van Meerdervoort in The Hague. Many years later, in 1987, Jeanne, as the last living family member, donated the property to the National Spiritual Assembly.

After completing her education as a teacher, she taught in various schools in the Netherlands, went to England to better learn the language, traveled to Paris to practice French, and eventually found a position as a governess in Belgium.

When Jeanne was forty years old, she accepted a position as governess for the children of the Dutch ambassador in Țihrán. Perhaps she was the only Dutch Bahá’í who first heard about the Cause in the very Cradle of the Faith. The story began the moment that she, through her own physician, came in contact with Dr. Ayadi. Later she read in the newspaper that he was not only a Bahá’í but that he was also the personal physician of the Sháh.

Once, when her taxi tried unsuccessfully to find a certain address, a Persian man in a small car stopped and asked where she wanted to go. He brought her personally to the address she gave him, and along the way he spoke about someone called Bahá’u’lláh, but this did not mean anything to Jeanne then. A couple of days later she was walking with the children in the city. Suddenly a small car with the friendly Persian drove up and stopped. The children, thinking it was a taxi, jumped in.

[Page 72]There was not much she could do but get in as well. When he learned that Jeanne gave English lessons, he asked if she would teach a friend of his. Jeanne agreed. The Persian friend visited them regularly and brought first one Bahá’í book and then another—books such as The Promise of All Ages, The Promised Day is Come, and Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era. The books interested her very much.

At her next visit to Dr. Ayadi, she asked him if she could visit the temple of the Bahá’ís. He laughed and said that he would be happy to bring her, but they did not have a temple. Later Jeanne got the address of the administrative center and found behind an old entrance "another world, with a beautiful garden."

She got to know Jeanne Mesbáh, the first Bahá’í from the Basque region of France, who was in Iran as the wife of another Bahá’í physician. From the Mesbahs, Jeanne borrowed The Dawn-Breakers, found it difficult to read, but got much out of it. She also met Clara Sharp and her daughter Adelaide, two American women who were the directors of the Bahá’í school in Tihrán.

Early in 1950 Jeanne returned to Holland. She wanted to meet Dutch Bahá’ís, although she had no intention of becoming a Bahá’í. She searched in Amsterdam and later in The Hague, and she found Jane Boekhoudt, the only Bahá’í living there. At Jane's house, she met other Bahá’ís and went to all the gatherings that were held there.

"One day," Jeanne recalled, "I went to Amsterdam, to the house of a pioneer couple from America, George and Mildred Clark. Not long after that, on August 31, 1950, after going through The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, I became a Bahá’í." There were then three Bahá’ís in The Hague: Jane Boekhoudt, Julie Morales from Peru, and Jeanne Kranen.

Meanwhile Jeanne tried to find work. as a teacher but was not successful. In 1951 she was offered a position as governess for a family that was going to live near the Bahá’í Centre in London. In time she decided to pioneer on the English homefront, and in 1953 she moved to Blackburn, where she found it difficult to secure work. One day she saw an advertisement that read, "Requested—a governess on the island of Cyprus." She replied in writing to the London address and received notice that she had been hired.

In 1954 Jeanne arrived in Cyprus and was welcomed by her employers and their four-year-old son. They lived in Kyrenia on the northern coast. There were only four other adult Bahá’ís on the island, all pioneers: Hugh McKinley and his mother Violet from Ireland, and Abbas and Samira Vekil with their son, Leroy, from Iran. They all lived in the capital, Nicosia, where the Local Assembly was formed in 1956.

In 1955 after Jeanne returned from her first pilgrimage, she met Hassan Ali Shashmaz and his wife, Hurmur. They accepted the Faith in 1957 and remained Jeanne's dearest friends. Jeanne tried to stay in Cyprus as long as possible, but the political situation deteriorated, and in December 1962 she received a letter from the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom asking her to leave. She returned to the Netherlands, moving from goal town to goal town, finally making a home in Oss, where she served as best she could from 1972 until her strength ebbed.

What Cyprus meant for her, and what she was able to do for it, was perhaps best expressed in 1990 by the Local Spiritual Assembly of North Nicosia, which wrote:

As an expression of deep appreciation and gratitude for your early pioneering service in Cyprus, we set up a teaching [Page 73]campaign for three months—the Jeanne Kranen Teaching Campaign—which led to four declarations. We, the Bahá’ís of today and the coming generations, will always think back with love and gratitude to you and be inspired by your valuable contribution to the development of the Faith in Cyprus.

Upon receiving the news of her passing, the Universal House of Justice wrote on July 14, 1993:

We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Miss Jeanne Kranen, whose profound faith in Bahá’u’lláh and tireless services to His Faith constitute a bright light in the annals of the Dutch Bahá’í community and an imperishable link established during the Ministry of the Guardian between The Netherlands and the Bahá’í community of Cyprus.

We shall pray at the Sacred Threshold for the progress of her radiant soul in all the worlds of God.

Lottie Tobias