Ann Arbor, Mich. – On Sunday, July 10, 2022, Agnes Hillen Larsen passed away at Hillside Terrace Senior Living retirement community in Ann Arbor, Michigan after a long illness. She was 82.
Agnes was born on August 27, 1939 in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia as the only child of Adriaan Anton Maria Hillen and Ethel (Good) Hillen. She spent her childhood in Indonesia on the tea estate of Santosa near Mount Papandayan until leaving the country to attend high school in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Following high school, she worked as an au pair and studied at the Institut Catholique in Paris, France before returning to the Netherlands and training as a children’s speech therapist. She married her husband Pieter den Outer in 1967 and emigrated with him to Marlborough, MA in the United States, where she raised her three children. After the untimely death of her first husband in 1983, she married Charles L. Larsen in 1985 and worked in home health care for UMass Memorial Health in Greater Worcester. She lived in Marlborough until moving to Ann Arbor, MI in 2017 to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren.
Although the majority of her adult life was spent in Massachusetts, Agnes had a cosmopolitan worldview as a result of her life experiences and curious nature. During various periods of her life, she spoke Dutch, English, French, German, and Bahasa Indonesia. She had friends in the Dutch-Indonesian expatriate community in New England and shared her upbringing with her children through her cooking and stories of her life. She was also very active and appreciative of the outdoors. She was an avid tennis player and longtime member of the Wayside Racquet and Swim Club in Marlborough, where she organized a women’s senior tennis group for several years. She also was a member of the Wednesday Wanderers hiking club and was a frequent hiker in Marlborough and the surrounding area. She also enjoyed visiting her children and grandchildren as well as hosting them on visits to her home.
Agnes is preceded in death by her first husband, Pieter den Outer and second husband, Charles L. Larsen. She leaves behind her three children: Eric Denouter of Newton, MA; Ingrid (Edwin) Bergin of Ann Arbor, MI; and Bridget (Edward) Philipp of Norwalk, CT; and her four granddaughters, Lia and Elena Bergin of Ann Arbor, MI and Samantha and Alexandra Philipp of Norwalk, CT. In addition, she leaves her stepchildren Mary Meier, Elizabeth Blake, and Peter Larsen, all of Maine; Laura Larsen of Marlborough, and Jane Arruda of Somerset, MA and their families. Additionally, she is survived by her paternal cousins Gied and Guido ten Berg, her sister-in-law Nel den Outer and nephews Ard and Ed den Outer, as well as other cousins and relatives in the Netherlands.
Agnes’ life has served as an inspiration and a testament to fortitude and grace. Although she will be missed, her example and memory will be sustained through the lives of her children, grandchildren, and all who knew her.
Calling hours will be held Thursday July 28 from 6-8 PM in the Collins Funeral Home, 378 Lincoln Street. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (https://www.lbda.org) or to the Resident’s Council at Hillside Terrace Senior Living in Ann Arbor, MI (https://www.hillsideterrace.net/donate).
All are invited to sign her online guestbook at www.collinsfuneral.com.
