(11 March 1940 – 5 January 2020)
Pieter de Jager, known to everyone at Boy’s High as Peter, passed away on the 5th of January 2020, following a short hospital stay due to a stroke in mid-December 2019. His sudden departure was just a couple of months shy of his 80th birthday on the 11th of March. He leaves behind two daughters Nicole and Brigitte and a loving wife Annemarie formerly Heinze. He would have been married to Annemarie for 50 years this past June of 2020.
Pieter attended Boys’ High in the 1950’s and often spoke fondly of his time there. He was particularly proud of being a boarder in Solomon house and was a House Prefect and captain of the School First Swimming Team and a member of the First Water Polo Team.
Pieter was known to be an agreeable chap with a friendly character and good conduct although we have it on good authority our father was mischievous at times as well. A long kept secret was brought to light at one of the annual reunions regarding a certain school statue on top of the dome at the school which was once dressed by a couple of boys from Solomon house, our Dad being one of them.
He spoke often of his years at school and the gents he made friends with over the years. He enjoyed attending the reunions and reminiscing about days gone by. Pride of place in our house was a water colour painting of the school and among my Dad’s effects we found his school cap.
After leaving school he attended Wits University for a short period, he then obtained work on a gold mine and continued to study. In 1962/1963 he moved over to London and worked for a Ventilation Engineering company. During this period, he toured Europe and met several ex-Pretorian’s. He returned to South Africa in 1964 and worked with a variety of air conditioning companies both in Durban and Johannesburg.
He married Annemarie (an old Loreto convent girl) in 1970 and they settled for a while in Durban before returning to Johannesburg. Pieter opened his own company and traded in a variety of services. He always had a hand in something and was on the lookout for the next big thing.
He retired to Kyalami where he managed Nicole’s smallholding and enjoyed the beauty of nature so much so that he had recently purchased a plot north of Brits in the North-West province to continue his relaxed retirement.
We invite anyone who wishes to share memories of Pieter or reminisce to contact us as per the details below.
Regards
Annemarie, Nicole and Brigitte
Nicole: nicki.dejager@gmail.com or US tel +1-832-933-381 or SA tel +27-83-234-7585
Brigitte: Brigitte.dejager@gmail.com or SA tel +27-83-633-1721