Dairy industry “pioneer” from Pretoria to be laid to rest
Bertus de Jongh served as trustee for both the Afrikaans art, culture and heritage trust as well as the Dagbreek trust.
The family of a well known Pretoria resident are in mourning after he suddenly died of a heart attack on Wednesday morning.
Bertus de Jongh, a resident of Brummeria, will be laid to rest on Saturday morning, according to a statement issued by the family.
The 70-year-old was described as a pioneer of the dairy industry. He served as trustee for both the Afrikaans art, culture and heritage trust as well as the Dagbreek trust.
He moved to Lynnwood, Pretoria, following his retirement and later moved to Brummeria.
His family described him as a healthy man, saying his sudden death came as a shock.
“De Jongh was born in Malmesbury on 5 May 1949,” the statement read.
“After his military training he studied a BA degree in economics at the university of Stellenbosch.
“In 1974, De Jongh moved to Johannesburg where he started a career in advertising while completing his honours degree through Unisa. He was awarded his masters degree from Unisa in 1992.”
De Jongh joined the South African dairy board in 1991 and served on the board until his retirement in 2015.
He joined the Milk Producers’ Organisation in 1993 and would go on to serve as the chief executive officer and group managing director.
“De Jongh was well known as an opinion leader in the dairy industry and was often cited in the media.”
Following his retirement, De Jongh focused his efforts on promoting the culture of Afrikaans.
“Bertus was passionate about Afrikaans and made huge contributions to both the Afrikaans art, culture and heritage trust and the Dagbreek trust,” said chairman Theunis Eloff.
“He made unique contributions to the fight to preserve the Afrikaans culture and art. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. He will be greatly missed.”
De Jongh was passionate about landscape and wildlife photography and also served as president of Pretoria’s camera club.
He is survived by his wife, Lida, three sons, Lourens, Bernard and Albert as well as his daughters-in-law, Carla, Lianel and Sharee.
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