Johan has lost his fight
Brenda thanked everyone who has sent messages and who supported her and her family.
JOHAN Marais (63) lost his fight against cancer on April 25.
He was a well-known resident of Alberton and was diagnosed with cancer 12 years ago. Johan showed improvement after surgery, but in May 2015 the cancer spread to his bones and on April 21 he went into a coma.
Johan spent most of his working life in Alberton, many years of which were in the insurance industry. In 1990 he began Square Circle Financial Planners, servicing several businesses. As the name of his company implies, Johan was a man who thought out of the box. In the early years he served on the Ratepayers Association and took community matters to heart, writing lengthy letters to authorities to correct the wrongs.
At the age of 56 he completed his degree from the University of the Free State (UFS) and at 61 Johan completed a difficult tax certificate from the University of Pretoria (UP). He also had a bike shop called Square Wheels for a year.
Johan loved dogs and together with his wife, Brenda, spent many weekends training and competing with Rottweilers. He served on the Committee of the Rottweiler Working and Breeding Association for a number of years. Johan’s wife described him as an adventurous man by nature and in his latter years he did tandem parachuting, abseiling and late last year, even though he had severe pain, zip-lining with his family.
He loved to engage in discussions with the younger generation and the family will remember his ‘Gustav storie’ and the researching of the Marais history.
Johan was born on September 23, 1952, in Kempton Park. He went to schools in Bethal, Mpumalanga where he lived with his family near the train station. From there the family moved and he matriculated from Hoërskool JG Strydom in Forrest Hill. He was the eldest of seven children.
Brenda said she met Johan in 1994 and they married in 1998. They have two children and four grandchildren. In an interview with the RECORD Brenda said she will miss Johan dearly. Brenda thanked everyone who has sent messages and who supported her and her family.
Johan was cared for by the wonderful staff of Stepping Stone Hospice during his last days and Brenda told the RECORD people should be made aware of the wonderful work the hospice is doing.
