Barrie Van Schalkwyk

Barrie van Schalkwyk passed away suddenly at home on the 7 ^th of June 2018. He is survived by his wife Julienne; his daughter Jade and her husband Richard; sons Cato and his wife Susan, and Paul and his fiancé Sarah; his brother Anthony and sister Angela; and his five wonderful grandchildren Andrew, Benjamin, Evan, Jonas and Dervla.

Barrie was born in South Africa to Dorothy and Johannes on the 13 ^th of June 1953, the youngest of five children. He grew up on the family farm, Malutizicht, in the Eastern Free State with his immediate family as well as his paternal grandparents, Ouma and Oupa, who Barrie adored and by his recounting were themselves the stuff of legend. His childhood was filled with many incredible adventures, usually alongside his brother Anthony and regularly at the peril of his beloved big sister Angela, such as the daring capture of dangerous snakes to sell to the Johannesburg Snake Park; and Barrie would regale his family with tales of these, as well as of trudging barefoot to the farm school, throughout his life.

It seems an impossible task to effectively summarise the life of someone as accomplished, brilliant, and loving as Barrie, who had a smile so wide his mother-in-law called him Kermit the Frog, and teased that it was going to unzip his head. He had a mischievous streak a mile wide, but across all his pursuits, both personal and professional, he gave his all. Throughout his life he was loved by his peers and seemed perpetually in the throes of or emerging miraculously unscathed from some or other amusing or thrilling adventure. He was unimpeded by injury; recovering from a serious cycling accident, scooter accident, two heart attacks and a broken back only to get up and protest at being taken to the hospital on every single occasion.

He restored furniture, rode motorcycles, scooters and his notorious but beloved bicycle, ran countless marathons, loved playing squash and travelled to every continent except Antarctica, although he loved nothing better than tinkering in his workshop, or tending his magnificent garden. The Green House was truly his paradise.

He was highly respected and extremely humble. He enjoyed a successful and varied career, bringing his vigor and brilliance to every role and project, often achieving his goals against formidable odds, and twice rising to the top of his profession. He was admired and loved by his colleagues, superiors and employees for his wit, charm and impeccable integrity.

As a member of the community Barrie gave endlessly, providing shelter, assurance and even paying for the education of many in need.

He was a faithful son and son-in-law, and a loving brother and brother-in-law. As a father he was endlessly loving and caring, instilling his children with confidence and integrity, supporting their endeavors, celebrating their successes and offering refuge in failure or hardship. The deep sense of pride that he had in his family and the joy they gave him was always in evidence. As a grandfather he was above all fun and affectionate, and he deployed his skill and creativity to make many ingenious toys and gifts to amuse and delight his grandchildren.

He recently taught himself enough of the intricacies of clockwork to be able to restore an antique wooden clock that accompanied him and Julienne throughout their marriage but had never before shown them the time. Indeed, it was in his role as husband that Barrie most reveled, and shone. He was married to Julienne for 42 years, and loved her for 44. He followed her across the world and then traveled it with her. Her delight was his, and  it thrilled him to surprise, please and take care of her. He thrived on her love for him, and was in constant awe of her nurturing, support and not infrequent forbearance. Their marriage and friendship were and remain an inspiration to many and a model for their children.

Barrie loved his people and he loved his life. It seemed that he would never stop. He has left us too soon, and heartbroken. His loss is on a scale which I doubt we will ever be able to comprehend or recover from, but we are humbled by the blessing of having loved and been loved by this incredible man.