As the eldest son, my dad e pected the best from me and wanted me to be an adult from very young.
One day on the farm, I was about 5years old and not in school yet, we were in his Datsun bakkie, we stopped at a fence gate(bekslaner) which I couldn't open, he got out and opened it and shouted,  bring him through,  which was the bakkie.  Although I was driving his cars sitting on his lap from just being older than 2 years  old, I had never driven one on my own. I shouted back I can't on which he said,  kannie is dood van wil nie. So, I hung onto the steering wheel, pressed on the clutch as hard I could, pulled away and drove through the gate. Well, from then onwards,  I was the driver. One day I got caught by the police driving my dads 10 ton International truck to the co-operation to deliver grain and I was only 12. When the pice called my dad at home, he told them that I was a better driver than most of them but he will come and fetch me. One day, I was about 13 years old, I was instructed by my dad to go and check on the cattle as he was away. On my way with his bakkie, I saw a huge Kudu Bull in the veld. I only had a .22 rifle with me, so I shot it. When my dad came back, he was very cross with me because it was the beginning of summer and was hot. When my mom told him I killed the Kudu with the .22 with one shot at a distance of more than 100 yards,  he came to congratulate me. I remember going on  hunting trips with him sleeping in the field. Baking buck liver in brown paper onder the coals,  titly wrapped that the oxygen won't lite the paper. That was delicious. Both my sons and I can braai meat and we always receive compliments on that, but I learned from the master, my dad! He did the meat to perfection on a fire. My dad was a very special giving person. Towards the end, he was calling us a few times a week and always wanted to know how we were. When I asked him how he was, he never complained. We will always love and miss him. Rest in peace DAD

Oupa Steve was 96 years old when he left us, and perhaps that is a blessing few are granted. Yet no matter how long a man walks this earth, there are some people whose departure leaves the world feeling quieter.

For us Van Wyk kinders, Oupa Steve and Tannie Katy were never merely an uncle and aunt. We did not have an Oupa and Ouma nearby, so somewhere along the way, we adopted them as ours. 

I can still remember the smell of tea lingering in the house, mixed with the scent of freshly baked beskuit. I remember standing beside Tannie Katy in the kitchen, watching her knead dough, and drinking tea from those smoked glass teacups that somehow made it taste better than anywhere else.

Then there was the sound of the porch door. That familiar creak and bang as Oupa Steve headed out “om te gaan boer”. To me, those words sounded like the beginning of an adventure.

Because Oupa Steve never seemed too busy for a curious child, I was allowed to tag along into a world that felt larger than life. I rode in tractors and lorries, sat proudly on the back of a Brahman bull, helped with cattle, branded calves, and searched for watermelons hidden beneath straw to protect them from the frost.

The farm was part of Oupa Steve’s heart. He loved the land, the animals, the quiet rhythm of farming. But more than that, he loved his family.

One of the greatest gifts a person can receive is knowing exactly where they stand in someone’s heart. He called me “my hart se punt”.

When we remember Oupa Steve today, we remember more than the years. We remember the man, the stories, the sound of that porch door opening and closing.
Dankie, Oupa Steve, for the adventures, the laughter, and the love.

The porch door has closed one final time, and the old farmer has gone home.

Rus sag, Oupa Steve.

Your family and your “hart se punt” will miss you dearly

Remembering South African History with reenactment

Christmas with the van der Merwe’s - our mom and dad was in hospital with my little sister’s birth

van der Merwe family,  I cannot write a Condolence for Steve, I can only say What a pleasure it has been for us to have known and worshipped with him and Katie for nearly 20 years. We have many fond and wonderful memories of our times together before and after Katie went to be with our LORD. They took us under their wing like family. She was greatly missed and Steve will be too. With our mutual love of cows and farming he was never without a story to tell. So glad we got to visit with him, just a short time back. We loved and admired both of them. They treated us like family and our times with them will never be forgotten.
Bill and Ruth Ann Holley

Steve always made you feel loved and cared for. When he asked, "How are you?", he genuinely wanted to know how you were. There was nothing fake about him. He loved with his whole heart. I will always remember and cherish our long gardening talks and the African bean seeds he gave me. 
He would greet you with a handshake, a smile, or a hug. These moments were always about you and not himself.  We will greatly miss these moments and look forward to seeing him again in our heavenly home.
James and Laura Minton

Dit is vir ons baie hartseer en sal n groot leemte in ons lewens wees. Ons het gereeld met Steve telefonies kontak gehad en elke gesprek was vir ons kosbaar.   Hy het goeie herinneringe vir ons nagelaat en was baie lief vir hom.
Liefde
Leon en Nika

Steve was a blessing to those that knew him.

Steve had a big role in exhibiting a servants heart and won the affection of our Daughter, Liberty.

Steve was a dear friend, a mentor in my journey with Christ, a confidant and most importantly, he was my Brother in Christ. 

When we would go to lunch he always wanted to go to the gas station first so he could “fill my car with petrol.”  What a kind and generous man he was!  I will miss Steve in this life, for sure.  But I  joyful for him as he often spoke of how he looked forward to the day God  fought him home. 

May you  all find peace and knowing how much love he shared with others  as he lived his life to the fullest but always in Christ.

OBITUARY

Johannes S van der Merwe

August 25, 1929 – June 7, 2026

Kiser-Rose Hill Funeral Home

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