Acknowledgements.

They decided to bring me into this world. My father brought stability by following his career steadfast. He was with the Standard Bank of South Africa for 41 years. He had one employer his whole life. When he was in hospital the medical staff were in disbelief that he had been with the same medical aid for 61 years. They had never seen this before.

He was dedicated to providing for the family and did a wonderful job at that. Him and I are remarkably close and are connected in some way outside of being of the same flesh and blood. When we think we may be 14,000 kilometres apart from each other, but we are thinking the same thing. Thank you for you unwavering love and support. Thank you, Daddy with all my heart.

Hello ‘Ma” (Afrikaans for Mum). Thank you so much for being the perfect mother. You were the fabric that held the family together. I could spend days in the same room as her reading without saying a word to each other, but we are in lockstep. She supported my father in his 41 years at Standard Bank. She was always perfect and meticulously groomed. No matter the time of day and or the setting.

She taught me many things; she was soft and kind but at the same time did not tolerate nonsense. I have never met another lady that nearly comes close to how you acted, presented yourself, treated other people and moved around in grace. I wish I could for now just hear your voice one more time.

I cannot tell you how much I miss you. I love you toooooooooooooo much and see you soon!

My father and mother I had dream. They had been going to Greece every year for about 15 years and never skipped a single year. My father retirement age was set by the Standard Bank of South Africa at 60 years of age. Being an executive this was your maximum retirement age. They worked and supported each other for the entire time. They got married when my father was 21 and my mother was 18.

Their retirement plans were 3 months in Greece, 3 months in Australia and then the balance of the year in South Africa. I mention it again just as my father retired my mother got cancer and passed away. It is so sad the dream never became a reality...

My mother was the only wife, soulmate, and true love of my father.

I had two wonderful sets of grandparents. On my father side I had Oupa and Ouma “Ackie.” Oupa Ackie was an extremely intelligent man. He was as tough as nails and had a mind of his own. He also suffered from mental health issues. It makes me wonder. He passed away when I was about 5 years old. But I can still remember all the mischief we got up to with him. We got into a lot of trouble. He was also a banker and had a distinguished 40-year career with the Standard Bank of South Africa.

Ouma Ackie was the foundation of the Ackerman family. She had her hands full with my grandfather. She was soft and gentle. She only always brought the best out of people. I spent many days and hours with her. She used to call me “Reesie.” Which was Marius abbreviated in some way shape or form. But it stuck!

My mother’s parents were known as Oupa and Ouma “Suze.” It was an abbreviation of my grandmother’s name.

They taught me so much because I spent so much time with them. Every school holiday I used to go to them. They had a tree bedroomed house in Johannesburg, but I was always in the middle of the massive bed they had. We used to call it the “feather bed.”

My grandfather was a true gentleman. No matter which day of the week he always wore a suit and a hat. Even when we went fishing or did woodwork. What a gentle soul he was. But he had a little naughty side to him. My Ouma had a Green Parrot called Charlie. My Oupa never missed the opportunity to tease him. One of his favourites were to show him his fist and Charlie went off. My Ouma knew immediately when this happened because of Charlies’ screeking.

Ouma Suze was ambitious, never sat still. Yet she was incredibly soft but extremely focused. She owned three florist shops. She was highly creative and a perfectionist. This is where I get my perfectionistic trait. They had a farm where they grew all the fresh flowers, and her offsider was France. Old France used to jump to attention when she was on the move. She loved animals, birds, fish, dogs, and everything else that included nature. I spent many hours in the bird aviaries as a child. I learnt how to arrange flowers, plant them, and grow them and weeding. Weeding was not my favourite pastime, but the job had to get done. I painted and did wood carvings when I was with them. We were always busy. She was an utterly amazing person. As a couple they made for a very warm, secure environment where I grew and could express myself without judgement.