Joey Fourie, 64, was well loved in the arts and tourism industry. He died on Wednesday April 2.
Image: Facebook
Hundreds of mourners gathered at Athlone High School on Sunday to pay their last respect to Joey Fourie, just eight days after he launched a tourism and arts initiative at the same venue.
Mr Fourie, 64, was a well-known and beloved figure in the arts and tourism industry.
He launched Down Klipfontein Road, a mixture of music, culture, history and art, as a community tourism initiative, on Saturday March 29.
Among the musicians who performed at the event was Jonathan Butler, alongside alumni from the Jazz Yard Academy. On Sunday April 6, Calendula Road, which runs down Klipfontein Road, had hundreds of vehicles parked there, as mourners came to celebrate his life. Mr Fourie died of a heart attack on Wednesday April 2.
Many of those who brought tribute to him, described Mr Fourie as being larger than life, who was passionate about the arts, bringing people together, and uplifting young people.
Performing arts poet, writer and actress, Khadija Heeger, said she will remember Mr Fourie as “such a beautiful dreamer”.
“I didn’t know him half as long as some people have. My connection with him was the Daily Music Show (another initiative he founded). When he phoned me the first time to participate in it, I didn’t know who he was. But I am so grateful that I spent that time with him. People say lots of things when people die, like ‘he was such a unique spirit’, but really and truly, it was never truer of this person called Joey Johan Pierre Fourie. He was truly a unique person who dreamt his dreams and believed in it. He was almost child-like in that way, which for me made him an extremely special person. There are people who are far too grown up that they don’t grow up anymore. They don’t know how to dream anymore. Their dreams become some kind of ridiculous monuments to themselves. Whereas Joey’s dreams were doorways to a room for everyone,” Ms Heeger said.
As one of the performers at the launch of the Down Klipfontein Road, Ms Heeger said she agreed to be part of it, as the initiative is important for history and culture.
“It was a beautiful launch. The day after, I sent Joey a message to say, ‘You’ve done it again’. I wished him all the success. It’s so necessary with all these white elephants of monuments standing here in Athlone. Nobody ever visits them because we don’t have a history. We didn’t participate in history. And yet, we have a history and we participated very vigorously. And our people need to know that and they need to be proud of what was done by our ancestry.”
Long-time friend and principal of Athlone High School, Vincent Hendricks, said he met Mr Fourie 42 years ago.
“We met at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). I studied with his brother, Cornel Fourie. He was a friendly, sociable person. Everybody at UWC knew him. He was a good squash player, a committed Christian and very outspoken against Apartheid. Over time, he was also a committed member of Athlone High School’s alumni. He planned Down Klipfontein Road for a long time, because he wanted tourists to see the other side of history - the Cape Flats. He was so determined in all he did and his energy and enthusiasm was on a next level. He was larger than life. In honour of him, I think we should continue,” Mr Hendricks said.
Mr Fourie’s brother, Cornel, said he was humbled to see the big amount of people attending the funeral.
“I am humbled to see how much he was loved. He was a servant leader, who made sure everybody was safe. My brother was a caring man and gave it his all. He lived to uplift people,” Cornel Fourie said.
In bringing tribute to Mr Fourie, his sister, Renaté Swartz, described him as “artsy, musically gifted, and larger than life”.
“From his early years, it was clear he was destined for the arts. He was different. The world was his studio and he found beauty in the mundane. He embraced life with open arms and had so much energy. He inspired others to dream and to be bold,” Ms Swartz said.
Reverend Michael Weeder, former Dean of St George’s Cathedral, who presided over the funeral service, said Mr Fourie had wisdom that sometimes was not understood by others.
In a Facebook tribute, another friend, Rod Solomons, said: “He was always about assisting others; making a plan. Joey was one for pulling off big projects or dreaming big when others thought it would be impossible. Joey was always about collaboration and promoting the projects of others besides his own.
“His family has lost a one-of-a-kind dad, husband, son, uncle and brother. We as friends have lost a friend-in-a-million. It is so unfair that we lost someone who had so much more to give in order to make this town, country, and world a better place.”