🙂 Sunny South African Childhood
🙁 Mother passed away in May 1974 and Simba being stung to death by killer bees and dying in my arms in the same year. 🙁
Dad (Barry Ockert van Heerden: 30 December 1944 to 9 January 2009 – 69yrs
Mommy (Daphne Barton Strauss: 5 August 1937 to May 1974 – 36yrs)
Photos of Dad at his Graduation from Rhodes (My Mom slept with this photo under her pillow and it was with her when she died) and a portrait of my Mother with the saddest inscription 🙁
Me!
The Grandparents.
Oupa and Granny. (Pieter Johannes Jordaan 16 May 1931 to 15 Nov 2000 – 69 years. Kathleen Lucy Holman 13 June 1913 to May 1993 – 80 years). Married 5th March 1959.
Oupa Strauss. Disgraced Policeman. Aunty Sylvia suffered at his cruel hand. Shot himself. Photo here of him and my Mom.
Father’s Mother, Mary van Heerden (Jacobs) neeWelgemoed (and where my 2nd name is derived from)….she dropped dead on station platform when dropping Dad to head off to Rhodes University.
Father’s Father: Ockert van Heerden – 1st policeman to die in World War II – his gravestone was taken care of by the Police Force for many years. Mary then remarried Chris Jacobs, who I always knew as my Oupa on my Father’s side. They had two sons called Chris and Pierre. Oupa Jacobs remarried a lady called Hazel and they had a son Carl who is a similar age to me.
Mom, Granny & The Aunts. Aunty Sylvia and Tannie Teresa and Linda. Sylvia Landman: 22 March 1930 – 08 August 2015 (84 yrs)
The Cousins: Henry, Izak & Pieter and Linda.
Sandra Place, Durban North. Tannie Orna and Karl and Freddie Kieck.
Garth, Wayde and Kent from next door. Loren and I…
My beloved SIMBA.
Cranford Place, Durban North and Winnie and Bowzer.
Deare Street, Port Elizabeth. Dad & Mon, Aunty Denise, David (RIP), Michael, Nancy and my half sister Renee.
Big Hole at Kimberley by train.
Northway Junior Primary School:Mrs Berry was the Headmistress – lovely lady. Class 1: Mrs Rhodes. Class 2 Mrs Pultz. Std 1: Miss Beattie. My school reports do not even mention the fact that my Mother died in 1974 while I was in Class 1, but they do state that I was a handful! LOL.
Northlands Senior Primary School: Std 2: Mrs Nel (Terrifying! Sputnik! Air your brains on field – hence zero mathematical ability!). Std 3: Mrs Russell – HATED me. Met her years later in Drakensberg Gardens after her husband was killed in a car accident and she told me she remembered bullying me and apologised!
Mom’s last photo at St Giles
Every Saturday morning we went to the Metro where we paid R1 for a movie and bought wine gums (and dodged chewing gum being thorn at our hair!).
Loved having my birthday at the Aquarium!
Dreaded flights to Port Elizabeth from Durban
