Tombstone found on street
One Joburg North resident who preferred to remain anonymous, was very surprised to have come across a tombstone lying in the gutter in Argyle Avenue in Craighall.
The resident said after noticing the granite she went home and told her husband about it.
“My husband thought I was mad, so we got in the car and went back to the spot, and there, in the gutter, was a granite tombstone with the name Fritz Radel engraved on it,” she explained.
“Lying on the pavement next to it was a granite plaque, broken into two, with the words Stefs Circle engraved on it.”
The resident carted the granite marker home for safe-keeping and posted a picture of it on the I Love Parkhurst Facebook page hoping someone could identify it.
Interested in finding out more about the tombstone, the search led the resident to Google where she found out that in 2007, an 18-year-old Stef Radel had been killed by a speeding motorist at the intersection of Dorset and Chester roads, now known as Stef’s Circle.
The date on the tombstone is born 15 February 1913 died 19 October 1987.
“Therefore I assumed that Fritz Radel was Stef’s grandfather,” she added.
After a week-long search, the couple got in contact with the company that established the memorial garden for Stef Radel.
“The company will be collecting the items and will relocate them. They are believed to have connections with the Radel family,” she said.
when approached for comment, Parkview police spokesperson Princess Mudau said that although this was the first incident of this kind she had heard of, it was possible that it could have been stolen from the cemetery.
“A tombstone is not the sort of missing object people ordinarily claim. However, we’ve heard of people stealing caskets, therefore there is a possibility that a tombstone could also be stolen to be sold,” she said.
“I would advise anyone who [finds] a tombstone on the street or anywhere else, except for a cemetery, to report it to the municipality.”
She said it could also be reported to the police as someone may open a case if a tombstone belonging to a loved one has gone missing.
Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo spokesperson Jenny Moodley said the department, which was the custodian of the city’s cemeteries and biodiversity, acknowledged the concerned citizen who took the time to report the find.
“While Joburg Parks requires more information to confirm that it is from one of the city’s cemeteries, we also need to be mindful that there are many remnants from various farm cemeteries scattered around Johannesburg,” said Moodley.
“Nowadays residents have to comply with national health requirements by ensuring that the remains of loved ones are properly interred in one of the city’s 37 cemeteries, or cremated.”
Moodley said it would be best to report the find to the nearest police station and to then forward as much information as possible to jcp@jhbcityparks.com.
“We will then investigate based on the details provided [whether] the tombstone should be returned to a cemetery or… if is a headstone [that was] privately erected in memory of a loved one, on private space,” she said.
