TOTI resident, Tersia Janse van Rensburg died on Tuesday, 19 July after being in a coma for 37 days as a result of suffering a brain aneurysm.
Tersia was born in Marquard in the Free State on 28 July 1951. Her father was a farmer in the Ficksburg area, and so Tersia completed her schooling in Ficksburg.
Tersia studied at the University of the Orange Free State where she completed her B.Com and B.Ed degrees.
Tersia, and her husband Pierre lived in Amanzimtoti for 27 years and were married for 34 years.
In his eulogy address, Pierre spoke of how passionate Tersia was about her involvement in the Blessing Bringers, the Haven, the Breakfast Club and her Bible study group.
Tersia put her heart and soul into the numerous organisations she came into contact with. She made time to participate in weekly line dancing classes with the Toti Hillbillies and enjoyed her involvement at the Siyakha Education Trust, where she excelled in all the courses she signed up for.
“The volume of messages on Tersia’s social media groups bear testimony to how she touched so many people by going out of her way to help and change their lives,” said Pierre.
Messages were received from friends and family across South Africa and the world as far as the USA, Germany, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Zealand and even Japan.
“It was also wonderful to receive messages from a number of ex-students of Werda High School in Malvern talking about the impact Tersia had on their career choices and the success that they have achieved in life. A part of Tersia lives on in each and every one of those whose lives she touched,” said Pierre.
These messages attest to Tersia’s prowess as a teacher, a career she started in Bloemfontein in 1975 and continued after the Janse van Rensburgs moved to Toti in June 1989, when Pierre accepted a position at Toyota. Tersia transferred to Werda High School in Malvern in 1989 when the couple moved to Toti, and continued with her career as a teacher of business economics, accountancy and related subjects until she retired in 2010. This capped her teaching career which spanned 35 years.
“Tersia had a kind heart and a passionate soul and she truly believed that we can all make the world a better place by doing random acts of kindness whenever the opportunity presented itself to us. She wanted to make a positive difference in people’s lives and never stopped looking for ways to help others.”
Tersia is survived by her husband Pierre, sister Zelda and brother Elmo.
