Born: 25 July, 1976 URS: 8 August, 2024
Katerina/Shakira was born in Czechoslovakia under communist rule. Her father, a musician, and her mother raised her and her brother Jakub in a small village near Prague. Her childhood was difficult due to her father’s dominance and emotional absence, which led her to rebel and struggle with addiction. Despite this, she always found solace in nature, creativity, and her close bond with her brother.
At 14, she participated in peaceful protests in Prague, inspired by Václav Havel.
She moved to Scotland in 1994 she formed lasting friendships. And when she later moved to London, she became a nanny and connected with the Sufi community there, beginning a journey of psychological healing.
In 2008, she met her partner, Stef v.d. Heuvel, in London. Despite living apart initially, they grew close through shared support and love. Katerina pursued a new career as a Steiner-school teacher in Devon, where she thrived, eventually moving to Delft in the Netherlands to live with Stef and run a bed and breakfast. It was in the Netherlands that Katerina/Shakira connected with her Sufi guide, Saki Lee, who would play a crucial role in her life, especially in her final days.
In 2017 Katerina/Shakira was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. Despite the grim prognosis, she remained positive, embracing life fully and surviving much longer than expected. She continued to enjoy nature, art, and the love of those around her.
She was surrounded by many friends and family, and in her last week a final wish was fulfilled —to swim in the sea one more time. On her last day, Saki visited her, supporting her in releasing her earthly life. That evening, in the presence of her husband Stef and her mother, she passed peacefully. Until her very last breath, she was radiant with love, gratitude and a beautiful smile.
from husband Stef v.d. Heuvel:
Katerina/Shakira and I shared a very special life and love. We were each other’s biggest fans. We both wanted the other to bloom and fulfill her or his wishes. We supported each other unconditionally. We shared a deep love for beauty—in nature, in art, and in people. Both of us loved expressing ourselves through art. We cherished honesty and purity: honest food, the innate honesty of animals, and truthful people.
With these beliefs as our foundation, we had so much fun together. We enjoyed countless beautiful walks through nature, shared playful, spontaneous dance moments, prepared lovely meals, admired beautiful art, explored ways to express our creativity, talked about everything, made beautiful love, and expressed our affection for each other time and time again. We didn’t love things; we loved people, nature, and beauty.
Katerina/Shakira taught me so much, and I admired her open, loving approach to people. Her hugs were long, warm, and full of love. We didn’t need much—we just wanted to do work we loved, have a simple home, and we made that happen with each other’s support.
I have never loved anyone this much, never felt such harmony with anyone. I am so grateful to have been Katerina/Shakira’s husband. It brought me immense love. I miss her deeply, but I’m also very happy that she no longer suffers and is now in a beautiful dimension, forever in my heart.
Katerina Shakira was such a joyful, caring and beautiful presence in our Sufi circle in The Hague. Always the first to volunteer to greet visitors to our gatherings, she was also an inspiring presence to those who were blessed to be in her presence. She had an indomitable spirit, courageously battling a terminal illness to the very end with an optimism that refused to refute the possibility of miracles. To this day, many Syrian and Ukrainian refugees remember her sparkling kindness when I asked her to give us a tour of her city Delf, where she lived with Stef. As her Sufi guide, i always felt it was such an honor to travel with her on the path of love, harmony and beauty….and i know we shall all meet again!! With infinite love and blessings, dear Shakira, from Saki
SHAKIRA
Shakira joined our Sufi group. In South East London in 2008. She t just returned from Gambia where she had been so concerned about the living conditions of a family there that she had decided to come to England to work for a while as an Au Pair and save the money to bring them back to England. She was beginning to see the impossibility of the task and that she needed some help in thinking it all through and so she asked me to refer her to a therapist for advice.
For the next couple of years Shakira was a keen member of the Sufi group and when she moved to another part of England to do some training for work with children it was clear that she saw her purpose in life as with children
She continued to come to our group whenever she was in London and after a short while she told me of her plans to move to Holland. Arrangements were made for her to change guides from me to Saki Lee so I ceased to have much contact with her other than that she visited our group whenever she was visiting England. I did know that she had got married and that she very much wanted children but was having all sorts of serious problems with her health.
During all this time Shakira kept in touch with her therapist in London but after the therapist passed over. two years ago, Shakira and I maintained occasional e-mail contact. Keeping me updated about her health and she knew that our group regularly sent her Healing. We could hear how she was not only experiencing the real hurt and disappointment that life was bringing her but at the same time was discovering a real spiritual light and joy She told me shortly before she passed on that she had always wondered why her Sufi name was Shakira but now she understood Her e-mails showed that she saw her journey to be “going home”. And a few days before she passed over she wrote to me “I am dying”
Katerina Shakira was a warm and lively member of our South London Sufi group. In fact the youngest.
Her vibrant precence and desire for understanding Murshid’s teachings enhanced the energy & depth of our meetings. Her ability to integrate theory and practice, alongside the consciousness she brought, are memorable.
It seems that her death reflects her Joy and love for life.
I remember her with deep affection for eveything she was.