Outpouring of love as editor Val laid to rest
THE family of the late former Pretoria News editor Valerie Elizabeth Boje have urged those who loved and cherished her to know that they need only look around themselves to see the love which formed a monument to her life.
Boje’s husband Roy Devenish spoke during the private funeral and memorial service for the veteran journalist in St Alban’s College Chapel yesterday.
The service was streamed through Independent Media’s social platforms, including the Pretoria News.
Devenish said his late wife had been loved. He said of all things he wanted to be remembered about her it was that those who came across her path had indeed helped her to acknowledge her hopes, dreams, ambitions and determination to make Pretoria a better place for all.
As a family, he said they were grateful to the hundreds of people who had sent messages and who now had a special place in the family’s hearts and memories.
Devenish also took the opportunity to commend their daughter Christine for being strong enough to put aside her grieving to ensure that the farewell to her beloved “Barbie” went off without a hitch.
“As a family, we have been overwhelmed by the huge number of tributes which have poured in for Val. From tributes heralding her professional capabilities, assisting organisations in the city with projects, to the streams of journalists she helped, mentored and cared for, they were all of great comfort to us.”
The veteran journalist’s father, John Boje, said although he knew his daughter was a special person, he did not know just how special she was until he heard and read all the wonderful things people had said about her.
He said it was the outpouring of messages they had received about the impact she had on people’s lives that sustained them.
“We had absolutely no idea that she had touched so many lives – and touched them so profoundly, but I believe her passion for her job gave her an opportunity to nurture talent and people.”
He said he was proud of all the messages sent through about his daughter, and most importantly those that highlighted how she strived to create an environment of non-racialism and how she had an eye for talent.
“Val has left us too soon, but the truth in your tributes brings out another message: that it’s not about how long we live, it’s about what we do with the gift of life while we have it. She set us an amazing example, one that enables us to remember her with joy, light and gratitude.”
Jos Charle, a long-term friend, colleague and a member of the National Press Club, which Boje chaired at the time of her death a week ago, thanked her parents for the gift she was to so many people in the industry.
Charle commended Boje for her efforts to reinvigorate the National Press Club and went on to detail her hard work, dedication and professionalism in her bid to make the Pretoria News great, by even bringing along the resources, contacts and whatever else she could, just as she planned to do with the Press Club.
Boje died last Monday, after a brief stay in hospital. She was due to undergo “minor” surgery to her heart.