Memorial for north businesswoman postponed
The Pretoria North community mourns the sudden passing of local golf course co-owner.
A memorial service for the well-known co-owner of the Hillside golf course in Pretoria North has been postponed because of the national lockdown.
Riana Gulyas, also an enthusiastic runner, was recently found unconscious in her bathroom and later pronounced dead on the scene.
Her memorial service was originally planned for 26 March.
“As a family we decided to cancel the memorial service,” Gulyas’s husband, Roger Manning said.
“We only have her death certificate now and can’t even plan her memorial.”
Manning told Record his wife died from a complication due to a heart attack.
The couple had been married for 13 years.
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Manning has been the owner of Hillside Golf course for the past two decades.
“She did everything in the business. She did the finances and I did the golf course. I have no idea how she did it and I am struggling a bit now. It may still take a while,” he said.
“She was actually the baas van die plaas.”
The new date for Gulyas’ funeral will be announced after the lockdown.
A friend, and member of the local CPF, Petro Oosthuizen describes Gulyas as “an awesome woman”.
Oosthuizen last saw Gulyas at the last parkrun at the golf course.
She describes Gulyas as an eager runner who easily ran 17 kilometres a day.
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“You always saw her running down Berg or Rachel de Beer Avenue. Everybody knew that tall long-haired lady in our neighbourhood.”
“I was so shocked to hear about her sudden passing. She was such a lovely person.”
“Always greeted me as if she missed me,” another friend, Renate Malan said.
“She always made time for a quick chat and always said hello when she ran past my house almost every day,” a friend, Sophia Holthauzen said.
“In this obituary, we mourn the loss of our beloved daughter, sister, mother and wife, Riana Gulyas who passed away much too soon at the age of 56. We will not only remember Riana’s beautiful spirit, but also remember her for living life to the fullest,” said her son, Reinhard Gulyas.
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Gulyas was born in Bellville at the Karl Bremer hospital on the 22 February 1964 to Peter Theron Avenant and Maria Magdalena Avenant.
She grew up in Kraaifontein where she attended Aristea Primary School and La Rochelle Girls High School in the Paarl, where she matriculated with university exemption in 1981.
Gulyas has a son, Reinhard Gulyas born out of her first marriage.
She later moved to Pretoria and married her second husband, Roger Manning on 9 February 2008.
“Riana Gulyas lived life for two things, her son and running. We will remember Riana Gulyas as a kind, thoughtful and caring person with a wild side.
You could not box and label Riana. She was as a young lady definitely not the norm and lived live with no regret,” Manning said.
Riana leaves behind her mother, Ria Avenant, her brothers Louis, Philip and Peter Avenant, her son Reinhard Gulyas and husband, Roger Manning.
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