‘Pillar of strength’ killed while in bed
LA MERCY businessman Bobraj “Ronnie” Gopipershad wanted to visit his daughter Jessica for Sunday lunch last weekend.
However, she told him it was raining too much and it was not safe for him to drive in the storm.
Last Monday night it was still raining heavily when he climbed into bed. Hours later he was dead.
The storm had loosened a boundary wall on his neighbour’s plot and the structure tumbled down on to Gopipershad’s house.
Jessica said a destitute man, who her father had given a place to sleep, was the only other person in the house at the time.
When the man heard the noise he ran to help Gopipershad who was covered in rubble with only his feet sticking out.
She said her dad told the man to get help but the fire brigade arrived too late to save his life.
Because of the storm, the cellphone signals were unreliable and it was difficult to reach the family.
“By the time the man got help and came back to my dad, he only saw him wiggle his toes and then he died,” said Jessica.
She said Gopipershad was a pillar of strength to many people. Jessica said he was known to bring strangers home who were down and out, and then give them jobs and helped them rebuild their lives.
“I think it's because he came from humble beginnings,” she said.
Gopipershad owned Umhlanga Plumbers for almost four decades.
Jessica described her dad as a health freak who exercised a lot and watched what he ate.
She said he always encouraged her and her sister to do so too.
He was a prayer warrior who was always ready to meet God, she said, but they did not expect it to happen so tragically.
Alastair Vandayer, her husband, said his father-in-law played an instrumental role in their church and had empowered many people in the plumbing industry.
He said Gopipershad’s wife of 49 years, Romela, was distraught, as was his other daughter, Raksha.
On the night of the incident, Romela was sleeping at their home because she had visited her grandchildren earlier in the day.
Vandayer said Gopipershad’s house was a wreck and that they had not yet seen or spoken to the neighbour whose wall had collapsed on the building.
The funeral will be held at the Christian Revival Centre in Durban on Saturday.
The cremation will take place afterwards at Clare Estate Crematorium.