THE DOMINIE AND THE LAW OF LOVE
The Rev Dr Louis Bosch (known as ‘Father Louis’ to most), passed away at his home in Edenvale on Friday August 7, 2020. Sadly, a victim of the dreaded Covert 19.
A marvelous friend of so many at the School, Louis finished there in 1959, matriculated the following year at the former Pretoria Technical College; did articles with a leading accounting firm; and then turned to divinity. This encompassed graduating at Rhodes University with a bachelors degree in theology, followed by a Masters and Doctorate at Unisa in the same discipline.
The reason for his not spending his last year at Boys’ High was that his father (a professional soldier and veteran of both World War 11 and Korea) believed emphatically that his son required exposure to something more practical and useful !!! A major rumpus arose when Louis chose to be a contentious objector and declined to undergo his compulsory military service. Considering himself a pacifist, he consistently maintained that the individual had the right to refuse military service on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience or religion.
The School, of course, was always a major focus in Louis’ life, he regularly attended a host of sports activities, reunions and functions, and expressed a long-standing wish for his ashes to be scattered in a quiet place on the School Estate.
He was first and foremost a man of God, unusually gifted and successful as a Methodist minister. His love and faith had few equals in real life; his magnificent sincerity brought God into the affairs of so many; his approach to life was broad and enthusiastic; and he arguably spent more time visiting and serving the distressed at home, hospitals, jails and orphanages than anyone I know. I always marveled at his clear direction and generosity.
As a Minister, Louis’s postings included the Cape Flats, Maclear in the Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth, Barberton, the former Pietersburg (Polokwane) and Kensington in Johannesburg.
He is survived directly by his wife Gail whom he married in 1965, his two sons Erin and Jeromy and grandchildren, two brothers and two sisters. Gail has long been a lecturer at the Johannesburg College of Education.
May Louis rest in peace.
Leon Kok (1964)