Johann Frederick Marthinus van der Merwe (83), known to some as Mr. Alberton, to others as Mr. Van or Oom Johann, passed away this morning (April 20) at his home in the Alberton Retirement Village in Verwoerdpark, Alberton.
Suffice to say that with his passing, Alberton has lost one of its greatest men and visionaries.
Johann will always be remembered for the work he has done to ascertain the growth of our town.
His friends will remember his honesty and sound advice and his family the rock he was to them in many troubled seas.
ALSO READ: To his family he was simply Pappa, Daddy, Skat, Oupie!
A man with a vision
Many will say that Johann van der Merwe can be regarded as the father of the modern Alberton.
During the 110 year celebrations of Alberton, the then chairman of the Alberton Centenary Committee, Neil Diamond said: “It would be impossible to single out an individual person to honour, but special mention must be made to those remarkable Albertonians who shaped and moulded out town into what it is today.
“I personally would like to single out Johann van der Merwe, who is widely regarded as the father of modern Alberton and was popularly known as Mr Van or Mr Alberton by his peers.”
Johann settled in Alberton as a young man and was instrumental in the growth and prosperity Alberton has seen over the many years.
During the time he served on the Alberton Town Council, and he envisioned the establishment of the Alberton Boulevard with its ring roads.
Johann was also one of only three community members at the time who have bestowed the Freedom of the Town when he was given honorary citizenship of the town in 1990.
Johann started his career in local government at the Klerksdorp Town Council in 1956 and at the age of 24, in 1960, joined the Alberton Town Council as a deputy director of the then Blankesake – the youngest in the history to fill this position.
In 1965 he moved to Nelspruit to find his way back to the Alberton Town Council in 1967, finally settling down in Alberton.
Under his guidance as chairman of the Management Committee of the Alberton Town Council, the town flourished and saw unprecedented growth. During his career in local council there are simply too many accolades bestowed upon and milestones reached to be mentioned.
It has been mentioned in passing that during this time he served on 90 committees and that he was part and parcel of the establishment of the Union Hospital together with Barney Herwits, the owner of the hospital who later sold it to Netcare.
ALSO READ: To his family he was simply Pappa, Daddy, Skat, Oupie!
Love for the community
Johann was the owner of the Alberton RECORD and in later years, when he sold the paper to Caxton Local Media, the manager – a position he kept for 20 years.
Many a young journalist for the RECORD fell under his guidance and for them, he was like a second father. To this day, he is still fondly remember by those to whom he showed the ropes of local media, reporting and instilled the ethics of journalism, as Mr Van.
Even after retirement he regularly visited the RECORD’s office and he never forgot a birthday of any of his staff members – whether they were still with the RECORD or not.
Johann was a founder member of the Alberton Home for the Aged and served on the board for many years as well as the Alberton Council for the Aged.
Through the community newspapers, the Alberton RECORD and the Southern COURIER, both part of Caxton Johannesburg South he established the Alberton RECORD Upliftment Fund and the Southern COURIER Children’s Fund.
Through these funds, thousands of Rands were raised for children and the elderly in the communities the papers served.
In later years these two funds were closed when the papers decided to rather work hand-in-hand with local charities to assist with charitable drives through partnerships with local charity organisations.
ALSO READ: To his family he was simply Pappa, Daddy, Skat, Oupie!
A family man
In 1956 Johann married Manna le Roux and two daughters were born from the marriage.
Though they eventually got divorced, Johann always described Manna as a wonderful woman and mother who was loved by all because of her loving personality,
Manna passed away in 1993.
Johann spoke with love about his two daughters Corlia Olsen and Anette Mogridge and he absolutely adored his grandchildren, Cheree Dowie (néé Mogridge) and Bronwyn Crawford (néé Mogrigde).
He was blessed to be a great grandfather to two great grandchildren, Harlee and Emme Dowie.
Loved in the community, Johann filled a space in many hearts and his presence left the memory of ‘Ons Meneer Van’, ‘Meneer Alberton,’ – Mr Alberton.
The emptiness he has left will not easily be filled – he will be sadly missed.
GALLERY:
