Well-known poet, editor dies
2009-09-28 09:30
Cape Town – Well-known minister, writer, poet and former editor of Sarie and Rapport, Izak de Villiers, 73, died early on Sunday morning at his home in Johannesburg.
His wife, Rina, said he had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease earlier this month. It is a condition that affects muscle activity such as speech, walking, breathing and later swallowing as well.
"He had been ill over the past two years, but it could never be established what was wrong with him."
She said it was as if he knew he was passing away. "He wasn't scared. He was a deeply devout Christian. He was only scared that his mind would be affected, but it was painless and his mind was clear."
He woke her up early on Sunday morning to ask her to help him sit up straight.
"He was breathing with difficulty because the disease had decreased his lung capacity. It was a normal conversation between two people who had come a long way together," she said about her last conversation with her husband.
Tributes
Tributes to De Villiers poured in on Sunday.
Danie van Niekerk, a longtime friend and former head of Tafelberg Publishers, said that in his career, where he had dealt with "highly intelligent people, De Villiers was one of the brightest".
"He was a man who could be insightful about president Jimmy Carter's defects and just as easily discuss Calvin's virtues, talk about Saint Teresa of Avila or his beloved Paarl. And he was one of our finest poets."
Writer Rachelle Greeff said she had lost a conversation partner. "At times in my life he was a father figure. I always saw the poet and the man of God first. He was a deeply, deeply spiritual person."
Former journalist and longtime friend, Fritz Joubert, said De Villiers was one of the most versatile writers and journalists.
Writer André le Roux said De Villiers could be argumentative "but he was always honest and it counted in his favour".
Dominee André Bartlett of the Aasvoëlkop NG Church congregation, described De Villiers as a person who was carefully attuned to the dynamics of human relationships and an extremely talented preacher. He was a part-time preacher at this congregation.
Sarie editor Michélle van Breda, said the magazine would carry a farewell message for De Villiers in its December edition. His last column in 31 years would then appear on the back page.
Apart from his wife, De Villiers also left two sons, Louis and Jacques, a daughter Chérie and two grandchildren.
No funeral arrangements have been made yet.