SOS Protec Sure mourns one of its own
Johannes Petrus Swanepoel had been working with SOS Protec Sure for five years where he was in charge of the guarding division and he was also a member of the tactical team.
IT is often said good people die but their contributions to the community will always linger on for decades to come and this is the case with one of SOS Protec Sure’s tactical team members who recently died.
Johannes Petrus Swanepoel had been working with SOS Protec Sure for five years where he was in charge of the guarding division and he was also a member of the tactical team.
His wife Petra also worked at the same organisation as she was in charge of control.
JP, as he was affectionately known by most of his colleagues, spent 25 years in the South African Police Service and part of his work was in the Child Protection Unit.
It is from this history that one could see the kind of person he was as he touched several people’s lives within the community.
JP died on April 27. His funeral was held on May 5 at a local church in Germiston. The service was well attended by SA Police veterans, a guard of honour and several members of the community he worked with during his life.
According to SOS Protec Sure sales marketing manager Martin Barber the night before his death, JP had gone out with the tactical guys.
He said it was only in the morning when JP was out of breath when he took a shower that he collapsed and died. He says as an organisation they are still in shock because he was very fit and strong.
The organisation lost a champion, as JP was committed to fighting crime in the community.
“He was an asset to the business. Nothing was too hard for him to do and I can safely say he was a typical company man and was well known in the community. He will always be remembered,” said Barber.
His wife Petra described her husband as a ‘God-sent caregiver’.
“He took care of everyone around him and all he ever wanted was to see people happy. I was with him for the past 30 years of my life and married to him for 28 of those 30 years. In all those years we never had children of our own but everyone else’s child was his,” she said.
JP also took it upon himself to take care of Petra’s brother’s children after he died a few years ago as well as her sister’s children as she is a single parent.
Although he took care of several people, Petra said in him she had lost a God-sent life partner.
“He was a gentle giant who loved me so much. We had been through so much together including the several miscarriages but he never left my side; he was always there for me. I believe he was an angel sent to me and now he is back in heaven.”
Born on September 24, 1965, JP is also survived by two pets.
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