Gentleman Ronnie Roux passes away at 92

Date: 20 September 2018 By: Andries van Zyl

The Soutpansberg has lost another of its true gentlemen with the passing away of the 92-year-old Mr Ronnie Roux on Saturday, 15 September.

Ronald Peter (Ronnie) Roux was born on 27 January 1926 in Benoni on the East Rand where his father was an engineer. He attended Springs High School where he played excellent rugby. All his life he supported the former Transvaal rugby team, but later the Lions.

After his marriage to wife Zoë, the couple moved to Northern Rhodesia for about 10 years before they returned to South Africa and settled in Louis Trichardt.

Most of his life, Ronnie was involved in the cotton industry and later became the CEO of Anglo America’s “Cotona” operations in the then Northern Transvaal. He also served on the board of the then Venda Development Corporation.

Ronnie and Zoë were married on 9 July 1949 and were happily married for more than 65 years. They had two daughters, Debra and Theresa.

One of the things Ronnie was best known for was his role as an active member of both the local Rotary Club, as well as the Freemason Lodge.

Ronnie joined the Louis Trichardt Rotary Club in 1966, where he was a respected member until his death. He served as the club’s president from 1970 to 1971. In 1998, Ronnie was awarded the Paul Harris Award for excellent service to the community by Rotary International. Zoë was a devoted member of the Rotary Anns and also received her Paul Harris Award in 2008.

During Ronnie’s 52 years as Rotarian, he served the community in all the Rotary's avenues of service where he always had a helping hand for the needy. “He was a gentleman to all who crossed his path and stood by Zoë for many years during her illness, until she passed away on 2 August 2015. Sadly, Ronnie could never let go of his feelings for the wife he loved so dearly until his death,” said fellow Louis Trichardt Rotarian Johan Gilfillan. When the couple celebrated their 65^th anniversary in 2015, Ronnie was asked what the secret was to a happy marriage. “Love and respect. Actually, caring love and respect. It is the caregiving that counts,” he responded.

Johan added that Ronnie had lived the four-way test of the Rotary movement in his life, namely: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? and Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

“The Ronnie legend will be missed by all, especially his family, friends, the Rotarians and Flora, who looked after Zoë and Ronnie for so many years,” said Johan.

Ronnie passed away at the Masonic Haven in Pretoria where he had moved only recently. He was there for about two months.

A memorial service for the late Ronnie Roux will be held at the Masonic Haven chapel in Pretoria on 2 October.

“Our precious dad and Gongi slipped away peacefully and with dignity on Saturday, 15 September to be with the love of his life Zoë. You are a huge loss to our world! We will always love and cherish your memory,” said Theresa, Debra, Tami, Calway, Rouam and Flora.

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

More photos... 

A more recent photo of Ronnie enjoying his retirement. Photo supplied.