Hansie's Bertha remarries

2004-06-14 06:09

Nelia Richter

George - The widow of the late cricket captain Hansie Cronjé, Bertha, married Jacques du Plessis, an auditor from George, during a quiet and intimate ceremony in Durban this weekend.

The wedding on Saturday morning came a few months after they announced their involvement. Both parties wanted to keep it as private as possible.

Only the immediate families were present at the event, Bertha told Die Burger after the wedding. The entire Cronjé family - Hansie's parents, Ewie and San-Marié Cronjé, Hansie's brother, Frans, and sister, Hester, and their families attended the proceedings.

Bertha's parents hail from Bloemfontein and Du Plessis' from Daniëlskuil in the Northern Cape.

The couple said they kept the arrangements private due to the wide media attention their relationship has been getting in the past couple of months. They wanted to celebrate the event in a special intimate family setting, said Louise Klopper, a good friend who also handles the Cronjés' media liaison, on Sunday.

God of second chances

A long-standing family friend, dominee Bles de Klerk, took care of the proceedings and the message from Romans 8:28 related to "the mercy of the Lord and His goodness - a God of second chances".

The reception took the form of a late-morning breakfast.

Bertha was wearing a stylish linen dress and Jacques linen slacks and shirt.

The couple left the country for a short honeymoon on Sunday.

They will continue living in George. Du Plessis is a partner in an auditor's firm, and Bertha is in the process of establishing a new company that will treat people with osteoporosis and sport injuries using new technology.

Carpé Diem

She worked as a physiotherapist at the Carpé Diem School for mentally and physically disabled children in George for many years.

She and Du Plessis, who are both 31, met last year in George via common business interests.

The wedding comes two years after Cronjé died on June 1, 2002, when the aeroplane he was flying in with two pilots crashed into the mountains above the town during overcast weather conditions.

Bertha told Die Burger two months ago that she now has "hope, an expectation and a future". Her friendship with Du Plessis helped her in a great way to process Cronjé's death.

Du Plessis has a daughter from his previous marriage. She wasn't at the wedding.

- Die Burger