Family of 4 with Chicago Roots Killed in New Zealand Volcano Eruption
A family of four who’d in recent years swapped their life in Chicago for the father’s native Australia are among the more than a dozen victims of the New Zealand volcano eruption.
The deaths of Matthew and Berend Hollander were confirmed by their suburban Sydney school, while their parents, Barbara and Martin Hollander, remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead.
Matthew, 13, and 16-year-old Berend, who went by Ben, were mourned by their family as “wonderfully kind and spirited boys” in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
“We are absolutely heartbroken by this loss. Ben and Matthew were wonderfully kind and spirited boys who lived short but very fulsome lives,” family members said. “They loved Knox [Grammar School] and all their friends, and the Australian sports and outdoor lifestyle they adopted on moving from the United States six years ago. They had a positive and lasting impact on everyone’s paths they crossed. The family requests privacy at this difficult time.”
Barbara’s parents also issued a statement to WLS-TV that confirmed the tragic loss.
“We are together with our family grieving the loss of our loved ones,” the statement read. “Our amazing daughter, Barbara Hollander and our son-in-law, Martin Hollander, were a wonderful couple and parents to our grandsons. We appreciate all the support.”
The grieving parents also said they were planning a celebration of life in the Chicago area for the family this coming summer or fall.
Knox Grammar School headmaster Scott James remembered Matthew and Ben for their many contributions to the school by way of extracurriculars in a letter issued to parents and obtained by PEOPLE.
The letter said Matthew was involved in Australian Army Cadets, and was also a mentor representative and a member of the school’s basketball, squash and debate teams.
“Matthew had a close circle of friends and was popular amongst his peers,” the letter read. “He was always enthusiastic about life and was actively involved in school and year group activities.”
Ben, meanwhile, was also a member of the Cadets, and loved baseball and the outdoors. He also had an interest in software design.
“Ben’s engaging smile and quirky sense of humor made him a good mate to his close group of friends and a welcome member to every classroom,” the letter read.
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Though Matthew and Ben were born in the Chicago area, the Hollander family had left the U.S. six years ago to live in Martin’s native Australia.
“When [the news] came that they were the ones that were missing it was pretty much unbelievable. They were a wonderful family, always helpful,” Craig Carlson, the family’s former neighbor in Northbrook, Illinois, told WLS.
Added Carol Carlson, “To see a young family like that so vibrant, and, I guess the blessing is they all went together because I understand the people that survived were severely burned.”
Martin Hollander worked as an investment director at Wipunen Incrementum Capital in Sydney, according to his LinkedIn profile. His page also lists him as a 1989 graduate of the same grammar school his sons attended.
The Hollanders are among 14 victims killed when a volcano on White Island erupted just after 2 p.m. on Monday. Two bodies still remain unaccounted for, though New Zealand Police said Friday that one of those two missing bodies is in the water, and divers are currently making attempts to recover it.
At least 28 patients are still being treated in six hospitals across New Zealand, and 23 are in critical condition, officials said.
Forty-seven people were visiting the island when the volcano erupted, and more than three dozen were traveling on Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship Ovation of the Seas.
A State Department official confirmed to PEOPLE that U.S. citizens were among those injured and missing following the incident, but that identification of victims was still ongoing.
RELATED: Australian Mother and Her 20-Year-Old Daughter Confirmed Dead After New Zealand Volcano Eruption
The U.S. Embassy in New Zealand said in a statement it was aware “of U.S. citizen casualties,” though a number remains unclear. There were nine U.S. citizens on the island when the volcano erupted.
Police have yet to issue an official list identifying those who died in the eruption, though family members have since come forward to claim their loved ones as victims.
A family spokesperson confirmed Australian mother Julie Richards, 47, and her 20-year-old daughter Jessica had died, while news.com.au reported that three members of the same Australian family — Anthony and Kristine Langford and their 17-year-old daughter Winona — also perished.
