Godfried Potgieter remembered
The St Francis community gathered at the Community Gardens on Sunday to “plant a tree” for World Environment Day and to unveil a plaque in memory of Godfried Potgieter. Below is a wonderful article from Yvonne Bosman on Godfried and his contribution and service to the community of St Francis
“Godfried was a member of the St Francis Kromme Trust Committee for over 20 years handling anything to do with botanical matters. He was a competent botanist and he and Caryl Logie started the Fourcade Botanical Group. Always on hand to assist with matters botanical and the training of the young group of Sea Vista youngsters of the Eco Club, he was always a willing to transport the group on the various outings and assist with these outings. He and other member of the botanical group provided a fresh display of currently flowering indigenous species at the Heritage Centre every week for the past about 15 years.
Godfried was a Kromme Trust representative on the FOSTER environmental group in Cape St Francis for many years.
He assisted greatly in the development and upkeep, especially in the early years, of the Community Garden, hence the new “Godfried’s Patch” which has now been dedicated to his memory.
He also helped to organise the Kromme Trust as a Public Benefit Organisation.
He was green keeper at the Bowling Club for many years (a very demanding task) and continued to help the new green keeper and committee whenever it came to practical matters. He was fantastic at inventing useful items or to build things to form a useful function.
He as also a keen member of the bird club and regularly attended outings. He made the famous nectar bird feeders that were so popular at the morning markets.
Godfried had a deep faith and participated in church matters.
He was a “gentleman” a kind and gentle person who helped whenever help was needed and was very practical in many spheres, having been an engineer. He was loved by all who knew him, was a really good family man, not only to his immediate family but to others of his extended family too. He will be missed in many spheres of the wider St Francis community.”
Here is an extract from the Facebook page that Geanne Darke wrote on him when he died.
“The Kromme Trust was fortunate enough to have his expertise and wisdom for over twenty years. That kind of service to the community and to our natural heritage is priceless. His area of interest and participation was in being the representative for the Kromme Trust, working with FOSTER, on the SCOSS (St Francis Coastal Open Space Systems) committee. He was instrumental in making the Kromme Trust a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO). He was involved in designing the layout and irrigation of the Community gardens and Romazini Valley and working closely with the Thatch Farm when it was in operation.
Godfried was an avid birder, and a member of the St Francis Bird Club. He loved the birds, but we suspect it was most likely that he attended all the outings to study the flora as his first love was the plants around him! Godfried was very much involved with botanicals in general. He was so generous with gifts of indigenous plants and imparting his wealth of knowledge. Godfried was the source of all our flora posts on our website and Facebook pages. He was a founder member of the Fourcade Botanicals Group over 16 years ago, and he organized all the Rambles. His commitment and dedication to recording and preserving of all botanicals was exemplary. He co-ordinated all the indigenous flower displays in the Heritage Centre. Godfried was excellent with teaching groups of Sea Vista children that have now moved onto jobs using the skills they acquired through these teachings. He was also an active member of the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (CREW) and was even the Bowls club Greensman for years.
We will miss his great fund of knowledge and his untiring support of all Kromme Trust activities.”
It was the most fitting ceremony for Godfried, tailor made for him, just as we would all want to remember him by. The mark he left in St Francis Bay and on everyone’s life will always be remembered with much love. I served in the church with Godfried for many years, he was a wonderful influence, a great support and a shining example . R.I.P. Godfried.
We have lost a good man but his legacy will endure. Thank you Godfried and may you find many more species on your spiritual journeys.