Sad passing of a pigeon racing fanatic
The sport of pigeon racing was a firm fixture in his life and was his “second love”, says wife Jackie
Jan Hendrik Theart was born in Belville on June 16, 1953, as the second eldest among four sisters and three brothers.
In the 1970s, Jan moved to Ladysmith, where he worked at Transnet for 40 years. He retired about nine years ago.
Also in the 1970s, he met the love of his life, Jackie, who would one day become his wife. Jackie came to Ladysmith to visit her parents and that’s how the lovebirds met. They lost contact initially, but ended up meeting again after seven years. No more would they part and they got married on June 20, 1980, with Jackie moving to Ladysmith to be with her husband.
Speaking to Jackie, she says Jan’s passion for pigeon racing started as a young boy in De Aar with his father. From then on, the sport of pigeon racing was a firm fixture in his life and was his “second love”, says his wife.
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She explains that he would go out to check on his birds each and every day… and that if it was during a race, the only thing he would speak about was his pigeons.
Jan sadly died of a heart attack on May 20 this year at the age of 66. He will be missed by his family and friends.
A service was held at his home on Monday last week (May 25). His surviving spouse says that a memorial will be held after the lockdown.
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