Paarl resident and former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has lost his wife, Theresa de Villiers last week on Monday April 4, after her lifeless body was discovered in a pool in Gqeberha.
Ms de Villiers was laid to rest on Friday April 8 and Mr de Villiers shared a link to the livestream service on his Facebook page where followers could attend the memorial service online.
The brother of Ms de Villiers, Robert Lewis, spoke at the service. “What I admired about her life is she showed us how to be of service to others without expecting anything in return. She never did someone a favour and then said, did you see what I did for you, now you owe me, that was not who Theresa was,” he said.
“She was a peacemaker at heart,” he added.
The 62-year-old Theresa was an educator in Paarl at Amstelhof Primary and later at the William Lloyd Primary School. The school expressed their condolences on Facebook.
“It is with great sadness that we heard about the untimely passing of Theresa de Villiers, an ex-colleague at William Lloyd Primary. We wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to Mr Peter de Villiers, Claudia and the extended family of the late Theresa.”
Another former pupil expressed his sympathy with the passing of Ms de Villiers. Jerome September, from Paarl said in a post on Facebook, “My maths and science primary school teacher with the red Ford Sierra. My deepest sympathy and wishing strength upon the de Villiers, Lewis and extended family.”
The GOOD Party of which Mr de Villiers was the mayoral candidate for the Drakenstein municipal elections in 2021, also offered their message of condolences to Mr de Villiers through a press statement released on the party’s website by GOOD party leader, Patricia de Lille on the day of her passing.
“On behalf of the GOOD Party, I extend our most heartfelt condolences to former SA rugby coach and GOOD Councillor, Peter de Villiers, on the tragic passing of his beloved wife.
“May strength, peace, and love surround you and your family, Coach, as you go through this difficult time,” Ms de Lille said.
Mr de Villiers thanked the public for their support in this trying time. He wrote in a post on his Facebook page on Sunday April 9, “Thank you to all of you that sent messages of love and support this past week. They mean the world to me and my family and have helped immeasurably.
“I am comforted that I will meet Theresa and my beautiful daughter, Odile again when God decides it is time for me too. They have been reunited already, as is God’s will and in him I will place my complete trust in these difficult times.” Odile Monk is the couple’s daughter who passed away in 2019 at the age of 28, after being diagnosed with cancer.
IOL Sport reported that the Walmer Police in Gqerberha in a statement reported no suspected foul play.
