Mondeor: Saying goodbye to Terry Magee

TERRY Magee (76) was taken from this life suddenly on August 31 in his Mondeor home.

His family have described Terry as being an exceptional man with a heart of gold, who always put his family and friends first.

“He has left a massive void which can’t be filled and as his family, we have the most precious memories of the wonderful man he was, and still is, in our hearts,” said Sean, his son, and Emily, his daughter-in-law.

Terry was a Southerner through and through and lived in Mondeor for over 50 years. His career took different paths throughout his working life, but he was always a man of integrity who went the extra mile and was never late for work, in fact, he was always early.

Terry had two children, Sean and Leigh-Anne, who were the absolute apples of his eye.

“We will remember dad for always being there for us, if he said he’d be there, he was. As we began our own working lives, he always made an effort to meet our bosses. It was important to him to not only be our father but to be in our lives as much as possible,” they said.

“Our dad was undoubtedly one of the kindest, most gentle men we have ever had the privilege of knowing. As children he would take us for many walks in the koppies of Mondeor and the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve and we went on the most memorable holidays with him to varied parts of South Africa – each trip we learnt something new through his enthusiasm and love of this country.

“Dad adored his grandchildren, Catriona, Briony and Rylan, and he spent many, many hours reading to them and chatting about what they had been up to. He was the best grandpa and when he came to visit, he always had a chocolate treat for them.”

Terry’s brother, Patrick, who lives in Australia, said: “Terry was and always will be my best boet. When Sean married Emily, she convinced Terry to start running. He accepted the challenge and ended up running and competing in running events on a regular basis.

“Later in his life the parkrun at Rietvlei was one of his favourite weekly pastimes. He was also recognised as the potjie king, which he meticulously prepared for family gatherings. I’ll miss him, till we meet again, cheers boet.”

The family reckon Shirley Difford, Terry’s constant companion for many years after he was divorced, deserves a medal for keeping him more or less on a straight line.

“Dad always recognised a beautiful woman and after going through his photo albums the past week or two, his appreciation of the female form has been reiterated,” Sean and Leigh-Anne smiled.

Loved by all of his family overseas in Australia and England, Terry was fondly remembered as tributes were read from them at his funeral.

“We will cherish every single moment we spent with you, we’ll love you always,” said his niece Colleen from Australia.

His other niece, Bonnie, who also lives in Australia, said” “One of my fondest memories was the good old Magee braais, the ones where we’d arrive at noon and know we’d only eat when it got dark and the meat served would be ‘very well done’.”

Terry’s other “family” – the brethren of the Freemasons

Terry was initiated as a Freemason in 1982 and Freemasonry played an important part in his life. He rose to Master of Kosmos Lodge in 1992 and was treasurer for several lodges up until his untimely death. He was extremely proud when he recently received recognition for his efforts as a Freemason.

“I have known Terry for many years, a more kind and caring person one would ever wish to meet,” said John Wilson, a fellow brethren. Other tributes were read from other brethren, Arnold Gould, Ken Baker and Howard Harris, as well as his niece, Kerry McLeish, and family in England.

Terry leaves his loving family and many, many friends behind.

“The way in which you were taken from us is very difficult to comprehend or accept at this time, but we are grateful to know you did not suffer. We will miss your jokes, cheeky sense of humour and those beautiful, blue, smiling eyes, dad!”