Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Elisabeth de Rijk Spanhoff left this life peacefully on Friday June 26th 2026, she was 81 years old. Elisabeth was born on May 10,1945 in Amsterdam, Netherlands to Maria Gimbergh de Rijk and Fredrikus Jacobus de Rijk. Her fondest memories of the first years in Amsterdam were exploring the city around her family home and the love the family showered her with being the first child born after the war.

Later her parents and six brothers and sisters immigrated to the United States and settled in Santa Monica, California. Here Elisabeth spent her younger years getting to know a new country. She attended Santa Monica High School where she graduated Maxima Cum Laude and received a scholarship to Mount St. Mary's College for Latin studies. Elisabeth was an academic in every sense of the word. She enjoyed learning and graduated from Mount St. Mary's College four years later with a Bachelor of Arts Magna Cum Laude. From there she was awarded a scholarship to the graduate program of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. Here she was awarded a master's in philosophy.

Later that year, Elisabeth married Renzo Willem Spanhoff and soon after gave birth to Saskia Spanhoff, their only child. Elisabeth was a loving mother who stayed home to raise Saskia. She started gardening, enjoyed playing piano and cooking. After Saskia entered school, Elisabeth went back to academia. She obtained her teaching certification and began to teach Latin at both McKinley Middle School and St. Joseph's Academy in Baton Rouge Louisiana. Elisabeth then went on the receive a Master of Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University. She then went on to work at the State Library as the Coordinator of Technical Services. Elisabeth went on to become a prominent figure in the library and information science community, best known for her academic contributions to bibliographic cataloging, library standards and literacy. She wrote extensively on literacy and public libraries in Louisiana, examining the history and surveys regarding the role of libraries in serving illiterate populations.

After Elisabeth retired from her professional career, she spent a lot of time exploring nature from taking up Botany classes to studying bird identification. Hiking in the desserts of the Southwest was a particular favorite. It was here in the Southwest that she acquired a great love for the Zuni Artisans and accumulated an impressive collection of Zuni Fetishes. She also enjoyed writing poetry, Haiku's and playing her piano. Elisabeth spent a lot of time studying music, by following certain artists and attending Classical Music festivals throughout the world. She was a great supporter of the arts. Walking into her home is like entering a beautiful art gallery full of local artists pottery, stain glass, sculpture and paintings. Most important to her were the paintings and drawing of her brother Marinus Wellman.

Elisabeth was predeceased by her parents Fredrikus and Maria de Rijk, brother Cornelis Welmann and wife Martha Welmann, sisters Maria Welmann, Neeltje Singh and Anneke Venrola. Elisabeth is survived by her two brothers Franciscus Johannes Welmann and wife Olga Welmann and Marinus Johannes Maria Welmann, husband Renzo Spanhoff and daughter Saskia Spanhoff and husband Enrique Pinerua and many nieces and nephews that all held her in great esteem.

Elisabeth was loved by all those that she encountered. She had a generous heart and a calm spirit. She never prejudged people and always took time to engage in meaningful conversations with those she met. She will be missed by many.

Services will be held at St. Agnes Catholic Church on Wednesday July 15th at 11am. Visitation will be from 10:30-11am. The family requests if you wish to make donations, please send them to St. Agnes Missionaries of Charity (Shelter for Women and Children and Soup Kitchen).