Police pay last respects to Captain FA Steyn
He died in December from a heart attack while at home.
SECUNDA – Captain FA Steyn, or Floors as most people knew him, died in December from a heart attack while at home.
Though his memorial service was held on 31 December at the Dutch Reformed Church Evander, his colleagues, family members and friends came together on 5 January to pay their last respects.
Capt Steyn seemed to always have had a joke, a smile and a kind word ready for anyone he had met.
According to a good friend, Mr Durr who spent many years working with him before retiring, Capt Steyn always used to compare his life to two thirds of a fortune cookie.
“No matter how many of those cookies you buy, there are three main fortunes: either you get money, you receive some kind of wisdom or it is a joke.
“Floors was a very wise man and had an amazing sense of humour, it is just the money that never came.”
Capt Steyn was also a man filled with love, compassion and caring.
Young police officers were encouraged to honour the memory of Capt Steyn by committing to protect and serve the public.
“It is not an easy job, but a very important one,” Mr Durr concluded.
Capt Steyn apparently would have wanted his passion, compassion, life and sense of humour celebrated and in line with his last wishes, police chaplain Capt Smith played one of his favourite songs.
A young police officer who worked under Capt Steyn for a number of years, praised him for his sense of humour and the way he always put his colleagues and subordinates at ease.
“On my very first day I had a problem deciphering his handwriting.
“At first I was too scared to go to him and ask for help, but the moment I went to him, he made a joke and together we figured out what he had written.
“I realised he was a man you could talk to and who would always give you advice and guidance.
“He was so jolly and kind and the kind of leader you could look up to and learn from and we will miss him dearly.”
Colleagues from different branches of the police force also spoke about his integrity, perseverance, positivity and kindness.
He was never a man to look down on anyone, and called everyone Boss.
One detective from the Secunda Police Station said that he owes Capt Steyn for the man he had become.
“He never spoke down to anyone and in my own life, he was one of the people who had raised me and taught me what it takes to be a man, a police officer, a leader and a valuable part of my community.”
According to his superiors, he was a police officer with an impeccable service record, who was always willing to go above and beyond his duties to get the job done.
