{"id":60144,"date":"2014-05-20T09:25:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-20T07:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/60144\/well-known-germistonian-dies\/"},"modified":"2014-05-20T09:39:04","modified_gmt":"2014-05-20T07:39:04","slug":"well-known-germistonian-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2014\/05\/20\/well-known-germistonian-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"Well-known Germistonian dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Johannes Diderick Nel was born on September 28, 1937, in the district of Lydenburg.<\/p>\n

He attended a small farm school and later Lydenburg High School, where he matriculated in 1955.<\/p>

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Hansie, as he was known, came to the East Rand directly after school and did his apprenticeship in Edenvale, as a barber.<\/p>\n

He opened his own shop in Homestead.<\/p>

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\"Primrose<\/a>
Primrose stalwart Johannes Diderick Nel recently died after a long illness.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1959, he married Zelma Juliana Neuhoff.<\/p>\n

A daughter, Erika, was born to the couple in 1961.<\/p>\n

A few years later Hansie moved his business to Rietfontein Road, in Primrose, across the street from Enterprise Dry Cleaners.<\/p>\n

He was one of the founding members of the Primrose Angling Club and served as chairman for many years.<\/p>\n

He received provincial colours for angling, for both the then Transvaal and Western Transvaal.<\/p>\n

Fourteen years after their daughter was born, Hansie and Zelma were blessed with another child, a son, Johan, in 1975.<\/p>\n

In 1978, Hansie moved the shop in Rietfontein Road to its present location, in the same street.<\/p>\n

At a point in time there was a huge stuffed lion in the window exhibit – this was later sold to a travel agency in Athens.<\/p>\n

Zelma was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1981, when their son was still very young.<\/p>\n

She passed away in 2005.<\/p>\n

Hansie served the public as a barber for 60 years, but his heath deteriorated and, about four years ago, he was diagnosed with heart failure.<\/p>\n

He spent three weeks in ICU at the Bedfordview Clinic and had a long a difficult time recovering from the episode.<\/p>\n

Although Hansie could no longer work actively as a barber over the last year, he insisted on going to the shop every working day, even though he was on oxygen 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n

On April 22, he was admitted to ICU at the Life Roseacres Clinic, and passed away just after 3am, on April 27.<\/p>\n

His memorial service was held at the NG Kerk Primrose East on May 4, where he was a deacon, and later an elder.<\/p>\n

Hansie had two grandchildren, one from each of his children, Erna van Aswegen (30), who works as a vet in Namibia and is Erica Meyer’s child, and Johan (5), who is Johan’s child.<\/p>\n

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