16 Oct RIP FANIE REDELINGHUYS
Killarney is a greener and more welcoming place thanks to his hand on it, and now that hand is gone. Fanie Redelinghuys, a horticulturist whose love and knowledge of plants and trees made him a legend, passed away on Monday 13 October at the age of 73.
When the late Pieter Cronje brought Fanie to Killarney in July 2022, to ask his guidance with regard to planting indigenous trees and shrubs at Killarney, to make it a greener, shadier and more inviting space for everybody visiting our facility, he didn’t just give advice – he donated hundreds of plants from his own farm, without expecting or asking for recognition, just because he saw the need.
All the candelabra aloes you see today planted around Killarney, came from the koppies above his farm Verrekyker near Wolseley.
Stephanus Andreas Redelinghuys was a big man in every way, with an even bigger heart, a quiet man who embodied the concept that actions speak louder than words. In his youth he earned Springbok colours for tug-of-war, and that’s how he lived his life.
He was a great friend and a great human being, described by his close friend Jan Odendaal as ‘a man for the planet’ – not just a conservationist but a man who actively set about making the world a greener place.
Fanie planted hundreds of indigenous trees at Verrekyker, where his son now farms. The area around the historic original farmhouse has been described as a ‘Garden of Eden’.
Nevertheless Fanie, never one to walk away from a job, stayed involved to the end of his life, sharing with plant lovers and friends the wonderful plants he grew in the nursery he was so passionate about.
It’s a cliché, yes, but never a truer one: a mighty tree has indeed fallen; our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Elizabeth, his children Jan-Pieter and Deborah and his three grandsons in this difficult time.
