Sarel Pretorius, a South African legend, has passed on.
Some might know Mr Pretorius better as the devoted husband, who kept his embalmed wife in a crypt at his farmhouse near Ingogo for almost 30 years.
His devotion, even after death, made headlines worldwide.
Even Ripley’s ‘Believe It Or Not’ reported on the heartbreak of Mr Pretorius, said to spend most of his days in the presence of the late Gesina, who died of a lung infection.
Preserving his wife was Mr Pretorius’s way of remembering her.
Friends of the family confirmed he had passed away last Friday, and would be entombed at Gesina’s side in a private ceremony later in the week.
At this farewell ceremony, the crypt will be sealed forever.
To put the devotion of Mr Pretorius into context, he spent more than a year building the tomb and prepared Gesina’s final resting place with her possessions, and writing blocks in which he wrote love letters.
