Daughter pays tribute to her father – a known Bedfordview dentist

On Sunday, May 21, the Bedfordview community was devastated by news of the death of well-known dentist, Dr Hermanus Gerhardus de Wet.

According to Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) spokesperson William Ntladi, the mini aircraft Dr de Wet was flying that day crashed near the R59 freeway southbound to Vereeniging.

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The departure of the father, husband and dentist has left a void in the hearts of those who knew him.

Messages of condolences from the Bedfordview community have been pouring in on social media as patients and friends have expressed shock and sadness at the sudden loss.

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The late dentist was married to Gail de Wet (53) for 30 years and they have two children, Christopher (28) and Natalie de Wet (25).

He was Dr de Wet to many, but to his daughter, he was daddy.

Natalie spoke to the NEWS about her father, who he was and how much he was loved.

“He was freakin’ amazing, a good person, generous, a loving husband, father and friend,” said Natalie of her dad.

“There’s no one word to fully describe how amazing he was.”

Natalie is a chemical engineer while her brother is a civil engineer.

According to Natalie her father went flying every Sunday and on the fateful morning of May 21, he left home at 9am and did not return.

The family do not know the cause of the accident, and it is still a very emotional subject.

“It’s not a good time, but we have each other; we are heartbroken. My mom is strong; it’s a tragic loss but we know we have to be strong. We are coping well under the circumstances,” explained Natalie as she held back tears.

Dr de Wet was born in Germiston and is said to have been the head boy at Germiston High School during his time.

“He loved being outside with family, he lived life to the fullest, loved sports, rowing, flying and rugby. Oh yes, and he was a huge Lions fan,” Natalie chuckled as she fondly remembered her father.

The messages of condolences, she said, have given her a lot of strength.

“We are overwhelmed with all the messages coming in – they’ve given us a small amount of comfort knowing that there are people out there who got a small taste of what we felt.”

“We knew he was amazing, but in this week, we realised that there are other people who got to share his amazing self, if that makes sense. We didn’t know the extent of the love people had for him,” she added.

Natalie said every day with her father was amazing.

“His death is a huge loss for the community as a whole. A lot of people have a hole in their hearts. We’ve received phone calls from people across the globe. He was special to a lot of people.”

“He was in the community for many years and built relationships with people. He was larger than life, generous, kind and had a great sense of humour. He was there for a lot of people.”

The late dentist (53) ran his practice in Bedfordview for the past 28 years.

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To his staff members he was like a father.

“His sense of humour kept us going; most of his staff had been here for many years. He was very involved in everybody’s lives. He had an open-door policy,” said practice manager Elmarie Naude.

“He was loved by all, he was brilliant and wonderful,” said Henthea McDermott, who was in charge of credit control.

“He was a humble man; he was everything to everybody,” Naude added.

The staff emphasised how proud the doctor was of his children and their achievements.

Natalie cannot pinpoint one specific fondest memory of her father.

“I have a lifetime of amazing moments. I have a camera rolling in my head of different memories. Every single moment has been incredible,” she said.

What will she miss the most about her dad?

“Just having him here; I just miss him.”

If she could say anything to her dad what would it be?

“Thank you for being in our lives and for being an amazing person.”

The funeral service of the late Dr de Wet was held on Saturday at The Runway at the Rand Airport in Germiston.