A former long-time employee of the Springs Advertiser, Maria Catharina de Villiers, who retired from Caxton in 2005, died on December 18, aged 84.
Ria, as she was known, was the face of the Addie front counter and assisted many clients with the placement of advertisements, general queries, funeral notices, and classifieds.
She was born in Springs in 1938 and attended Laerskool Werda and Hoërskool Hugenote. After school, she worked at the Boksburg Benoni Hospital’s (now Tambo Memorial Hospital) X-ray department.
In 1959, she married Albert de Villiers and they had four children.
“We grew up in a good, loving home,” said Karen Nel, Ria’s daughter.
“My parents were strict. They taught us values, manners and right from wrong.”
In 1975, Ria worked at Bob Levitas, and her journey at the Springs Advertiser started in 1981.
“What a lady,” said Nel, adding that her mother loved her work, was the joker of the office, and a good sport.
“Loving, kind, and always wanting to help others, but also difficult at times.”
Ria stayed with her daughter Nel for 11 years after Albert died. She moved to the Presidentia old age home in 2009.
“She made wonderful friends at Presidentia. She loved her little house and beautiful garden. She spent a lot of time in her garden and loved feeding the birds,” said Nel.
In September, Ria became ill with dementia. She fell, had a stroke, and broke her arm. At that time, her family moved her to Rus ‘n Bietjie frail care.
“The staff were fond of her from the first day. They took care of her in such a beautiful way.
“Ria was remembered by family and friends on January 7, when a memorial service was held. Our mother was a remarkable, strong woman,” said Nel.
Ria is survived by five brothers, a sister, four children, three daughters-in-law, a son-in-law, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
