TRIBUTE TO ZACHARIAS ANDREAS DE BEER
Written and presented in Afrikaans by his son, André de Beer,
in Pretoria on Saturday 10 February 2007 at 10 a.m.
Family and friends
I thank each one of you here today who made the time to come and bid Zackie de Beer farewell.
Zackie de Beer was my dad and for many years I thought that he was a dad like any other. I thought that is what a father should be. But as I got older I came to the conclusion that he was not just a dad like other dads. He was an exceptional father who, in his own quiet way, thoroughly put his stamp on us.
He was also an exceptional man. He was - as are all the de Beers - a very quiet man, a man of few words. In spite of his reserved nature he taught himself to be an enthusiastic and graceful public speaker. That takes guts to do, I know!
He was an intellectual. I was always confident in the thought that if I do not know something, I could ask him, he will know. Pa always knew!
At the same time he was also very artistic and clever with his hands. He was forever busy with one project or another. We built a sailing dinghy together; model airplanes and flew them as well; erected cupboards and book shelves. He always involved us in everything he did and took us along on the exciting adventure of exploring a new craft. I remember to this day the smell of wood glue simmering in the glue pot.
I think the greatest loves that stayed with him his whole life were photography and painting. Most of us sitting here today have one or two of his paintings hanging in our homes.
He started with photography very early in his life. Long before the arrival of digital cameras or even single lens reflex cameras. He spent hours in the dark room under the mysterious red light developing films and then printing the black and white photos. He took hundreds of photos of the family from before my birth and he kept this up his whole life.
During the past week we received an email message from [cousin] Henry in New York, in which he mentions the photos my dad took of him at a very young age with his parents. A beautiful and very moving email that gave me a special perspective on my father and the role he played in the family.
Zackie de Beer was a real gentleman who kept himself aware of the latest developments in the world. He liked doing mathematical and crossword puzzles to keep his mind keen. Recently he kept himself occupied with Sudoko puzzles.
Thank you to all of you here today. We are also thinking of aunt Hanna who would have liked to be here.
On behalf of my mother, sister and brothers I would like to thank doctors Gouws and Jooste as well as the hospital staff who cared for my father in the recent weeks.
Thank you to everyone who came to see him in hospital. Thank you Charlene for your effort in transporting [my father's] brothers and sisters to enable them to visit him. Also thank you for the loan of the mattress and wheel chair.
Thank you for all your prayers and support. A special word of thanks to uncle Meyer who made such a long trip every day to transport our mother to the hospital. Sometimes even twice a day.
On behalf of the rest of us I thank Carl and Jeanette whose household was turned upside down in these last weeks. You do not know how much we, living so far away, appreciate everything you did for Pa and specially for Ma.
On behalf of my mother a word of thanks to [reverend] Rischmuller for performing the service today and for the visits to the hospital.
On behalf of us children I would also like to thank Ma. It is not easy to raise a family. Thank you for your help and loyal support to Pa during the 61 years together. We know it takes tremendous effort to build a marriage and a family.
We thank our Heavenly Father for His grace that has been sufficient for us and will be sufficient in the future.
I think that Zackie de Beer was content to give his life into the hands of our Lord.
Thank you all.
Translated by André's sister, Shani Vavruch
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