PBHS Old Boys Association - ePhobian

Obituary: Myra Moore (nee Brooks)

4 November 1933 – 14 January 2010
The Association has been notified of the passing of Myra Moore (nee Brooks), the only daughter of Bill and Frances Brooks.

Myra grew up in Solomon House during her father’s tenure. Later she became a teacher at Girls' High and she married Michael Moore while he was a teacher at PBHS. Michael later left teaching and entered the ministry, becoming a moderator of the Presbyterian Church.

Myra suffered from Parkinson's disease and had discomfort in her latter years, but despite this she was always inquisitive about happenings at the school, and particularly at Solomon House.

Information supplied by Mike Smuts, Matric 1952.

Obituary: Neil van Coller (PBHS Business Manager)

3 December 1960 – 2 February 2010
Neil joined the staff of this school in 2008. When the school decided to restructure some of the management roles, particularly those relating to finance, grounds and buildings, the position of business manager was formulated. What became readily apparent in the months after Neil arrived at Boys High, was that he wrote or perhaps rewrote his own job description. I don’t mean formally, in terms of a contract, but rather in the manner in which he did the job. In short, he broadened it way beyond that which could reasonably be expected of someone in that role. There cannot be too many instances in the history of this institution, where someone who worked for such a short period came to win respect so quickly and in so many quarters. Since they received the sad news, many staff, be they teachers, admin staff or grounds staff have come to me to say how much he had done for them. As the business manager, nobody would have taken it amiss if he had operated purely from his office and had limited his work to manager of how the Rands and cents were spent.

The responsibilities and pressures associated with running the financial side of a 50 million Rand operation are considerable. Neil took this in his stride, coordinating the interrelated activities of our finance staff, governors, parents association, teachers and bush school in terms of budgets, salaries, contracts and registration. He helped to facilitate new projects and maintenance relating to grounds and buildings, often micro-managing projects that required urgent attention. Apart from this, he took over responsibility for security, and was even the liaison person for the World Cup insofar as it impacted on this school. It was for all these reasons, that when we held a short assembly to honour his memory on the morning after his death, I said to the boys that whether they knew it or not, Neil had played a part in their lives as pupils here, by doing much to ensure the smooth running of key aspects of PBHS.

Much of Neil’s devotion to the school, stemmed from his devotion to his two sons, both pupils here: David in matric last year and James currently in Form 4. The pride he took in their role in the school became inseparable from the pride he took in himself being on the staff. It was to be seen in his support of school functions and sports fixtures, but extended to simple things like attending Friday assemblies.

While it is easy for us as a school to speak in terms of the void that Neil’s passing will leave here at Boys High, we must not forget that he was also a father, husband and son. Our sincere condolences go to his wife Carla, his sons David and James and his brother Norman.

Thank you for sharing Neil with us and be assured that many of the qualities that make your loss so acute are the same ones that make his passing so keenly felt by those of Pretoria Boys High.

An edited version of the eulogy delivered at the funeral on behalf of PBHS by John Illsley. Photo: Neil van Coller at Mr Schroder's 65^th birthday party.

Obituary: Robert (Bobby) Edwin Fendick, Matric 1968

31 May 1951 – 19 January 2010
The Association has been notified of the passing of Bobby Fendick, Matric 1968. Bobby was in Arcadia and in addition to being a school prefect was an officer in the Cadets. He finished at PBHS with a distinction in mathematics and went on to become an Actuary. He died after battling cancer.

Information supplied by Keith Gibbs.

Should anyone have any further information please contact the Editor.

Obituary: Michael Gritten, Matric 1942

Michael passed away on 31 August 2009 at the age of 83. He served on the KZN committee of the Old Boys Association for over 20 years and was a proud old boy that loved the School. Many will remember him fondly for his singing at functions.

Michael lived life to the full and was enthusiastic in all he did. He was a keen member of the Shakespeare Society, the SAAF Association, was a member of a quartet who gave concerts – mainly for the aged. He took part in many stage musicals in his younger days and ran a soup kitchen for his Church for six years. At his Memorial Service it was said that he did more in his lifetime than others would have been able to achieve in 150 years.

He is remembered as a true gentleman. Michael is survived by his wife Anne and children Michael and Celia and their families.

Information supplied by Robin Shorney.

Obituary: Vivian Gerald Henry, Master 1962 – 1972

21 May 1939 – 23 June 2009
The Association has been notified of the passing of Vivian Henry, a Master at the School from 1962 – 1972. Mr Henry died tragically on 23 June 2009 in Johannesburg, where he lived after leaving PBHS.

As a Master at the school he had a profound influence on a number of his fellow teachers and particularly on the boys. He taught English for many years but his passion was History. (He became Head of Department in 1969). Many remember how Mr Henry made history ‘live’.

An obituary like this would not be complete without the mention of the various productions in which Mr Henry participated. From the organisational side there was, variously, ‘Trial by Jury’, ‘Yeoman of the Guard’, ‘The Gondoliers’ and ‘The Mikado’ and also there were the many annual Staff productions.

Vivian Henry was a singularly dedicated master and his love of Boys High is perhaps best recorded in his own words: ‘Boys at PBHS do not realise how privileged they are to enjoy such an excellent opportunity to belong to a school which upholds such marvellous values and standards.’

He is fondly remembered by the thousands whose lives he touched over the many happy years of his association with PBHS.

Information supplied by Keith Gibbs.

Obituary: Solly Tucker, Matric 1954

Solly Tucker, of the matric class of 1954, died at his home in Pretoria on 6 August 2008 at the age of 71.

A gifted student at school, he obtained a BA from the University of Pretoria and went on to study law at Cambridge University, where he obtained an LLB and later an LLM. Torn between a legal and business career, he opted for the latter and joined the family business founded by his father. He transformied it into the JSE-listed York Timbers Limited – a forest products company – which he chaired until his retirement a year or two before his death.

Solly’s interests and friendships were broad and ranged from music and chess to public affairs and corporate governance to the law. In law he retained an abiding interest, sometimes sitting as an assessor in the Income Tax Special Court. His legal training and business acumen were tested to the full in a monumental series of legal battles that concerned contract rights governing the position of saw-millers with allocations to logs from the state forests in Mpumalanga. The SA Law Reports are replete with decisions about this decade-long struggle, in which his plucky and astute defence of the integrity of contracts is recorded.

His love of music took him from a violinist’s bench in the school orchestra to the podium as a conductor in a youth orchestra in the now defunct International Arts League of Youth. Later he took up the role of organiser of informal musical soirees and other musical events at his home in Die Wilgers, outside Pretoria.

Always even-tempered and courteous to the point of courtliness, with a keen sense of humour and an irresistible attraction to intellectual undertakings, he was a doggedly hard-working man who had a clear vision of things. He was an entertaining and challenging companion, whether on a drive through a forest or on a holiday at an exotic destination or in a consultation about a tricky point of law…

He retained a great affection for PHBS and gratitude for his years as a pupil, and attendees at his matric class’ 40- and 50-year-on reunions will recall his enthusiastic and generous contributions to those events.

The family he leaves includes his wife Marika, children and grand-children, and his brothers Basil and Ivor and then the many old boys of PBHS. There are many others who have reason to celebrate his life and achievements and his kindly and generous spirit.

Information supplied by Lawrence Reyburn, Matric 1954.

Obituary: Warren Buttifan Sewel, Matric 1958

The Association has been notified of the passing of Warren Buttifan Sewel, Matric 1958. Warren passed away in Port Elizabeth in January 2009.

Information supplied by Mark Muttitt, Matric 1981.

Should anyone have any further information please contact the Editor.

Obituary: Professor Walter Eugene Morrow (Wally), Matric 1957

15 July 1939 – 11 February 2009

Wally died after a long battle with an inoperable brain tumour. To his frustration he lost his ability to read and write soon after being diagnosed with cancer, but between us we managed to get a book finished, Bounds of Democracy: Epistemological Access in Higher Education, which is soon to be published by HSRC Press. As you can see, he was a passionate academic all his life.

After attending Pretoria Boys High School, he graduated from Wits in 1961, and then became a teacher, first at Vorentoe Hoërskool and then Jeppe Boys High. He left South Africa rather quickly in 1965 and went to London. After teaching English at Riyadh University (Saudi Arabia) he completed his Master’s at London University. He returned to South Africa in 1972 to take a lecturer’s post in the Faculty of Education at Wits. During this time he was registered for a PhD with London University, and received this in 1982. He stayed at Wits for 12 years, before moving to the University of the Western Cape where he was initially Professor of Philosophy of Education before becoming the Dean of Education in 1991. In 1999 he moved to the University of Port Elizabeth (now Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) where he was also Dean of Education, before being seconded to the National Ministry of Education for three years to head a Commission on Teacher Education. This report A National Framework for Teacher Education in South Africa was published on June 16^th 2005. He was adamant that teaching is a profession, and that teachers should be treated as the professionals they are, and that their rightful place is at a University to gain their teaching qualification.

One of the things that he introduced to South African students was Metatheory – many students objected to this course, but now look back and realize what a profound influence it had on their lives – both professional and private. He also introduced the terms ‘formal access’ and ‘epistemological access’ which helped many teachers and policy makers steer their way through the complexities of policy.

Wally was a renowned academic who was known for his critical thinking. He supervised 14 Masters and 11 Doctoral students and published numerous articles in local and international journals, as well as books. He founded the journal Perspectives in Education while he was teaching at Wits (and edited it from 1976 to 1986) and in the early days we got it ready for distribution on our lounge floor! He always emphasised that conferences and meetings were about discussion, not just displaying your own work.

He was involved with the HSRC, SAQA, SACE, and Umalusi and was the principal author of HIV and AIDS Preventative Education- a Training Programme for Teacher Educators in Sub-Saharan Africa for UNESCO. He chaired the Education Deans’ Forum from 2003 to 2005, and viewed this forum as a very important place for discussion of the problems of teacher education and the independence of universities in this teacher education.

Hopefully his legacy will live on through his students who are now throughout the world and also in places of influence in South Africa. He will be missed by his family, friends, colleagues and students.

Information supplied by Mark Muttitt, Matric 1981.

Obituary: Kenneth John Howard, Matric 1949

The Association has been notified of the passing of Kenneth John Howard, Matric 1949. Kenneth passed away in Port Elizabeth on 8 June 2009 following a severe stroke.

Information supplied by Mark Muttitt, Matric 1981.

Should anyone have any further information please contact the Editor.

Obituary: Edward (Eddie) Ashpole, Matric 1954

The Association has been notified of the passing of Edward Ashpole, Matric 1954.

Information supplied by Allan Stilwell, Matric 1960.

Should anyone have any further information please contact the Editor.

Obituary: Spiro Floudiotis

Spiro Floudiotis – father of the present headprefect, Kyriacous – died suddenly in May this year while on holiday.

‘Our dear, dear friend Spiro Floudiotis – loyal, kind, generous, a scholar and a gentleman. We will miss you terribly on the sidelines of the sports fields, in the Rissik House Golf Day, and our Maritzburg trips will never be quite the same. Know that your passing has left a void, filled with many happy memories. Irene, Kyriacous and Sev are just part of our families now. Till we meet again old pal.' Your many friends at Boys High

The following obituary has appeared to date in the Komorant.

Obituary: John Simpson Kirkpatrick, Matric 1946

The Old Boys Association has been notified of the passing of John Kirkpatrick.

Should you have any further information please contact The Editor.

Obituary: Frank Wheeler, Matric 1957

1939 – 2008

The Association has been notified of the passing of Frank Wheeler. Frank was a proud old boy who carried his memories of Boys High throughout his life.

Information supplied by Robin Wheeler.

Obituary: Raziel Gershater, Matric 1955

The Association has been notified of the passing of Raziel. Raziel, who finished at PBHS in 1955, qualified as a medical doctor and went on to become a prominent radiologist in Canada.

A full obituary was published in the Toronto Star which can be read here: Raziel Gershater, 67.

Information supplied by Josh Gershater.

Obituary: Thomas Michael (Mike) Rowland, Matric 1949

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Mike Rowland (4 January 1931 – 8 March 2009). Mike battled a malignant brain tumour for the last year of his life. He will be greatly missed by his friends.

Information provided by Derek Brown.

Obituary: Eric Arthur Todd, Matric 1957

The Association has received notification of the passing of Eric on 5 October 2008. Eric was on holiday in the Richtersveld when had a locked-in stroke and died later from complications in Johannesburg.

He is survived by his wife, Winsome.

Information supplied by Winsome Todd.

Obituary: Richard Edmond Roulliard, Matric 1944

The Association has been informed of the passing of Richard. He was in Solomon House. Richard died peacefully in his sleep following complications that arose from a stroke.

Information provided by Doreen Böhmer.

Obituary: Tiego Lentswe Rapoo, Matric 2001

The Association has been informed of the passing of Tiego. He was in Sunnyside House.

Should you have any further information please email: The Editor.

Obituary: Mark Otto, Solomon 1975

I regret to inform you that Mark Otto, Solomon House 1972 — 1975 passed away in Cape Town. Mark will be remembered as a fierce flanker for the school and for his house and as a talented sprinter and hurdler.

He matriculated at St Davids, Inanda and qualified as a dentist at Wits in 1982. At 'Varsity he was involved in the Students Sports Council and was a founder member and Chairman of the Windsurfing Club. After National Service, Mark spent 3 years in the West Indies before returning to South Africa and settling in Cape Town. He had a successful practice and was a senior figure in the field of dental implantology.

Information provided by Robert Luke.

Obituary: Robert Sidney Harrison, Matric 1984

Robert died tragically on 7 April 2008 while driving his sons and their friends from a rock climbing club meeting near Rustenburg.

Information from Keith Gibbs.