Notes |
- As a descendent of one of the Boere families that refused to swear alegiance to the British flag after the Anglo Boer War Aletta has quite an interesting life story.
Her Mother Johanna Petronella Janse van Vuuren left South Africa as a 3 year old girl with her parents, Christiaan Jansen van Vuuren,of occupation a teacher in Colesberg and Anna Elizabeth Snyman originally from Phillipstown for Argentinia in 1905. Within two years of their arrival in Argentinia both her parents died and she was raised by the widow of MM Venter. MM Venter was the leader of the 1905 group the Argentinia but he also died fairly soon after their arrival apparently in 1908.
Her father, Andreas Gerhardus Christiaan Visagie left for Argentinia when he was 20 years old with his uncle who was on a family visit from Argentinia. Initialy he worked in his uncle's business but soon started looking for a suitable place to start his own vehicle workshop. At this stage he met Aletta's mother and they got married in Argentinia and the three eldest children, all three daughters, were born in Comodoro Rivadavia in Argentinia.
Her parents decided to return to South Africa in 1933 when the country was suffering from a serious drought. After staying with her grandparents on the farm "Dwaalhoek" near Potfontein her father opened a service station in Petrusville. Times were hard because of the drought and farmers paid for repair work with sheep. Money was very scarce.
Aletta went to school in Petrusville from Sub A to St. 10. When she was 8 years old her only brother Jan was born.
After school she studied at the teachers College in Bloemfontein. In the mean time her parents moved to Jacobsdal where her father opened a service station. After completing her studies she started teaching in Jacobsdal until she got married in 1952.
After a 9 year spell of being a housewife and mother she started teaching again in 1961 at Wonderboom, Villieria. A 3 year period followed at Rachel de Beer, Pretoria North and another three years at Generaal Jacques Pienaar in Capital Park, Pretoria. After that she also teached for a brief period at Derdepoort Primary School north east of Pretoria.
After moving to Windhoek with her husband in 1968 Aletta teached for brief periods at Orban en Emma Hoogenhout Primary Schools and then at Suiderhof Laerskool until she retired on 30 June 1984. Aletta and her husband Sampie then moved to Kleinmond where they stayed until 2004. They then moved to Legato Retirement Village in Durbanville.
On 14 June 2006 Sampie passed away. When she reached the age of 80 Aletta moved to La Vie est Belle also in Durbanville where she passed away on 10 July 2016.
She was cremated with his ashes placed in the rembrance wall at the DR Church in Kleinmond.
|