PE ‘ghost walks’ leader mourned
Tributes are pouring in for popular Port Elizabeth historian Rose Trehaeven, who was renowned for her “ghost walks” to some of Port Elizabeth’s oldest and spookiest properties.
Trehaeven, 85, of Kruger Gardens in Summerstrand, lost her battle with cancer on Wednesday last week.
She was also a retired teacher and a former curator of the 7 Castle Hill Museum.
Brian Trehaeven said his mother had died peacefully on Wednesday.
He said she had cared dearly for her three children and her grandchildren.
Trehaeven was born just outside Kimberley in 1935.
She attended Kimberley Girls High School. and went on to study at the Grahamstown Teachers' Training College.
She met her husband, Bruce, at the college.
Bruce died in 2001, aged 69. Among her various teaching posts, Trehaeven taught art at Collegiate Girls High School.
Former Bayworld historian Jenny Bennie said she had first met Trehaeven in 1979 when she was appointed curator of the 7 Castle Hill Museum.
“We became good friends. She was a wonderful, enthusiastic, hardworking and outgoing woman,” Bennie said.
“She was an interesting and unforgettable character.”
Port Elizabeth Genealogy Society chair Alan Montgomery said Trehaeven was deeply involved in her community.
“She understood people very well and lived by the ideals of the city.
“Rose had these big sparkling blue eyes. She enjoyed life.
“We will miss her dearly,” Montgomery said.
Trehaeven was also the brains behind the popular “ghost walks” in Central for many years.
A memorial service will be held at St Cuthbert’s Church in Westbourne Road at 11am on Wednesday.