Obituary: Jack Matthee. Jackie saw a newspaper ad for the ‘Paint Your Wagon’ audition in 1993. He showed it to Karin and said ‘let’s go!’, she agreed and they became such a vital part of Pinelands Players that very soon we couldn’t imagine the Society without them.

Most people knew him as a builder of sets, but Jack was first and foremost a comedian. He was in his element when he was making people laugh. He and two pals formed ‘The Nitwits’ 50 years ago and until a few years ago when one of them passed away, they performed continually. They featured in ice-shows and even appeared on TV in a variety show 40 years ago – when television finally reached South Africa. Memories of Jack miming to Spike Jones with his contraption of bells, whistles & horns will always bring a smile.

He was an incredibly talented man; he could decorate a cake with delicacy and turn a scrap of leather into a holster or wallet. In fact, show Jack a scrap of anything and he could turn it into something useful. He made amazing props, costumes and accessories. From very real looking firearms to working fountains, spears, saddle-bags, boots, tables, benches and so much more.  One had to be very careful not to take advantage of Jackie because he was incredibly generous with his time and skills and just never knew how to say ‘no’.

Actually, Jack did say ‘no’ to me once. In ‘Flight of Fantasy’ I asked him to sing a song, a very poignant song called ‘I won’t send Roses’. ‘I can’t sing, I won’t remember the words, I can’t do it!’ I bullied him into it. At first people started to giggle – after all this was Jack and he made you laugh – I thought I’d made a horrible mistake; then the audience went very quiet and there was a flurry of tissues as Jackie performed the song with sincerity and depth…I bawled every night.

Jack missed his work after he retired, he missed it sorely. It wasn’t work it was a calling; teaching challenged people how to create useful things and giving them pride in their work. They loved ‘Uncle Jack’ very much. With his talents Jack could have chosen another path, he chose the one where he would do the most good. The Landsdowne Methodist Church and later The Thornton Methodist Church benefited from Jack’s talents as well, he devised and directed dozens of shows to increase their coffers.

I know you all have wonderful memories of Jack; he was a truly good man who had the gift of spreading happiness, laughter and love wherever he went. The world is certainly a poorer place without him in it. Along with many friends, we’ll miss him so much. It’s hard to even imagine the extent to which he’ll be missed by Karin and the family who were so close to him.

So our thoughts are with them as they go forward on life’s journey without Jack’s physical presence. But his spirit will be with them – and us, forever. Wherever there is laughter and a smile, he’ll be there.

Obituary: Erika Mitchell: Erika Mitchell passed away recently; she was in her late 90’s. Erika & Ken joined the society in the early 1950’s when we were still known as The St Stephen’s Pinelands Repertory Society (or ‘The Reps’). Not only did Erika appear on stage in several productions, but she was also a talented artist and painted many eye catching backdrops and sets. Later when Ken took over the lighting – rigging, designing and even building his own lighting boards – Erika was always at his side to lend a hand. She was never without her knitting and her basket of wool with a flask of tea & some sandwiches neatly packed in the side for when Ken took a ‘break’. One memorable night at the Little Theatre, Ken was at the lighting board upstairs with Erika sitting behind him, needles clicking away. If I remember correctly, the production was ‘Paint Your Wagon’. The show was under way and the Director went upstairs to get a bird’s eye view. He walked between Ken & Erika heading for the far ‘window’ to watch the show. As he passed Erika, he quietly greeted her and the gentleman who was standing next to her watching the show over Ken’s shoulder. As interval was approaching, the Director left and noticed the stranger was gone. Afterwards, he asked Erika who the man was and she said ‘What man? The only person who came into the room was you.‘ They realized that they’d been visited by The Little Theatre’s resident ghost, Cecil. As far as I know this was the only time he’s ever actually been seen!

Erika and Ken loved theatre and their cats (of which they had several); after one beloved cat disappeared, Ken built an elaborate cat run leading from the back door, fenced in on all sides including the top – they never lost another cat.

Ken was still climbing ladders and rigging lights in his late 80’s with Erika nearby as always. I can picture them vividly as I write. They are a part of our history and have now joined those who created the energetic spirit that was and is, Pinelands Players. R.I.P.