Wageningen, The Netherlands
October 26, 2023
On Monday, October 16, 2023, our beloved colleague Lian Wiggers – Perebolte died in a tragic traffic accident while cycling home.
Lian was a KeyGener through and through, she has worked for our company in various departments in various roles and positions for over 24 years. She started in our laboratory, where she produced large amounts of data, as that was what she was trained for. She soon started to shift her interests: from producing data to analyzing data with computers. It didn’t take long before Lian made another shift in her (professional) area of interest, from user of computer analysis tools to developing those tools herself.
As colleagues, we have witnessed Lian’s very independently chosen and realized career path, from laboratory technician to software developer in more than 24 years. The path tells a lot about who Lian was, with, between and for us as colleagues.
An important characteristic of Lian was her determination. Once she set her mind to something, she wouldn’t let go and the goal had to be achieved. Always curious, eager to learn, independent, challenging herself, with a love for the content and technology and the enormous drive to create something good and meaningful. That is what Lian was.
Lian was always very modest, she did not feel the need to stand out as a person. But when it came to content, she would come forward with conviction. Lian was a silent force behind many developments within bioinformatics at KeyGene.
On a personal level, we got to know Lian as a listening, thoughtful, caring, responsible, loyal and humorous colleague who had a special peace, calm and decisiveness. She was always ready to help others, as a company emergency response worker, as a member of the works council, but above all, as a much-loved colleague
We are shocked and saddened that Lian has been taken away from us so suddenly, but also proud and grateful that we were able to be part of such an important part of Lian’s beautiful life. We will always keep Lian in loving memory as a colleague and person.
Roeland van Ham, CEO
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