Whatshot
Trough my eyes
Trough my eyes
Date: 2016-06-10
There is no saddersad. No darkerdark. No lowerlow.
Death there simply is no defining it is like the blackest black hole from which we never come back from.
My father in law, Eric Yoko passed away last Thursday. It was a peaceful dignified death. He did not suffer. He was feeling weak for a few weeks and the doctors were certain that the end was inevitable but no one wanted to believe it.
Not Eric! The 93-year-old war veteran, who fought Rommel in North Africa, during the Second World War and spent time as a prisoner of war in Italy.
Not Eric! Who could serenade in Italian at the drop of a hat.
Not Eric! Who fought for honour and was as tough as nails and as light as a silk hanky.
We really did think he would be around forever, because in life Eric was indestructible, we all believed that not even death would get him.
Eric had a colourful life, he was born in PE in 1923, his great grandfather was a Greek naval officer who went AWOL and settled in PE where he changed his name from a longer Greek name, to Yoko, making sure that he would never be found. Abandoning ship was punishable by death in those days. He was one of the first Greek settlers to settle in South Africa.
Eric never had anything bad to say about his parents. But one thing is for certain; he was not about to hang around in boring PE. He had more fantastic ideas; he got himself enlisted and joined the war effort.
So at the age of 17, Eric grew a moustache to look old enough and got on a train, which took him straight to the frontline .
He never complained about the war. He joked about the 'Gerries' and laughed when reminiscing about the hardships in the dessert.
He met the love of his life in Cape Town. He married Mavis and together they settled in Johannesburg where they produced a beautiful brood of babies, four boys and one girl. There were many bumps in the road and many painful ordeals but Eric remained eternally optimistic. He was never down or morbid. He was always charming and always knew what to say to make everyone in his company feel special.
He was a gracious guest at all the parties and often the last to leave. He loved his whiskey and he loved a good time.He never asked for pity, he simply enjoyed life at each juncturehe marvelled at technology and moved with the times, he will be remembered by all who knew him as a great gentleman who was loved by all.
RIP Eric - gone but never forgotten.