Peter Fleming

IBM Finance Branch 1968

Ganter, Freeman, Yuill, Stan Fleming, Mike Blumenthal, Peter Fleming, Halbisch, Davies, Bruce Hodson, Ian McGregor, Richard Strong, Barrie Simon, Ken Lancaster

Peter Fleming

Maureen and Cyril Prisman

Dear Ruth and family

Please accept our sincerest condolences in your great personal loss

It is so difficult for us to accept that Keith's voice and knowledge are now finally stilled.

What a man.  Look for  a moment at his attributes...and you will agree that "a cedar has fallen"

A sailor.
the consummate musician.
Someone who could elucidate any problem involving computers.
The good  friend.

The proud father and grandfather.
Oh, it is difficult to visualise a suitable successor!!Someone who will be as good a Renaissance man as he was!!!

We can understand your  and your family's sense of loss and loneliness..but how proud you must be of his achievements!!
We will never forget not only his personal kindness towards us at the time of celebrations of various milestones in our lives but also the incredible mind of a musician  who could conduct a performance of the  Hebrew Sabbath SERVICE  without a formal knowledge of Hebrew and leave our[Jewish] clergy stunned by his ability and  depth of knowledge and feeling with which he could mount such a performance.

We truly can say that "this is a man, and we shall not lightly see his equal again"

Your family has lost its head.and we as friends and  members of the broader community join in your mourning  for all that is no longer there

Please accept our sincerest condolences and our tribute to an incredible man.


yours very sincerely,

Maureen and Cyril {Prisman]

Keith Rentzke

I met Keith when he was appointed Information Systems Manager at Southern Life in 1972/73.  I had joined only a few months earlier so we were both newcomers.

His reputation preceded him and we looked forward to meeting a man who was not only IBM’s top insurance systems expert in South Africa, but also a Chartered Accountant.  What a coup for Southern Life!

He came in like a breath of fresh air, gusting life into a department which was crying out for leadership and innovation.  My colleagues, including top management, were in awe of him.  His energy and enthusiasm were contagious, and we were all keen to learn from him.  He was so enthusiastic and passionate about his work (and life in general) that it was nearly impossible to disagree with anything he did or said.

He was ahead of his time in software engineering and encouraged us to use leading edge techniques.  

He somehow managed to get hold of the latest books on structured programming before they were published and there were always dog-eared photocopies circulating in the office.

When we needed a database management system, we couldn’t find any software in existence at the time, but that didn’t stop Keith.  He promptly commissioned a small team of us to write our own, which we called File Handler.

Under his leadership we worked hard and played even harder.  One occasion stands out in my memory.  We all met at The Pig and Whistle in Rondebosch one Friday for a celebratory lunch.  We had such a good time that time flew and we only got back to the office around three by which time we were in no state to work, so we promptly packed up our work, tidied our desks and headed for our regular Friday night get together at Forries (Forester’s Arms).  We would regularly carry on the party at the Mattison’s house in Plumstead after Forries, and Keith would entertain us on the piano.

It was a blessing and privilege to have known such an amazing, energetic, passionate, knowledgeable, skilful, mischievous, lovable, and unforgettable spirit.

Keith Rentzke

Ruth Mattison

KEITH’S  EULOGY

Ruth Mattison

I had the great privilege of being Keith’s partner for 50 years - A front row seat on a life that was filled with adventure, music, friends and family.  He was driven by curiosity and a need to live life on the edge.  He was interested in everything and everyone – outgoing and often outrageous, always over the speed limit or parked illegally.  He thumbed his nose at convention and did things his way.

We had an interesting life together.  He had the wind in his sails and I was the anchor.  Both necessary.  Our love was deep and we trusted each other completely.

His four great interweaving passions were family and friends, music, sailing and teaching.  He kept his greatest love for his children and grandchildren – each one dear to his heart.

Ben, Ethan, Matthew, Hannah, Theo, Alex and Sophie (bemhats)– Harry loved you.  I know you all thought he was the naughtiest person you knew – full of delicious plans and projects for adventure and fun and always ready for hugs.  I hope he has passed on to you his love for life and his belief that you can do anything when you believe in yourself.  Hold Harry in your heart and he will never leave you.

To everyone who loved him, thank you for bringing joy into his life.

To my wonderful children Kevin, Sam and Niki and their partners Sandy, Mike and Rob - Thank you for your love and support always.  Together we will survive the loss of Keith and hold him dear.

Wind howls, trees moan, sky weeps

A great soul whispers farewell.

Uprooted from this life

Flies free once more

Gone sailing

To another shore

(Note: I wrote this poem the day after Keith’s death.  A big storm came through the night he died and uprooted the tallest tree on the Alphen Common. Ruth Mattison)

The following quote exemplifies Keith’s approach to life

“This is the true joy in life — being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one… being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.

Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it over to future generations.” 

~ George Bernard Shaw

Andrew Collins

Thank you all for joining us this evening to celebrate the life of Keith “Harry” Mattison.

I would like to welcome Keith’s family. His wife Ruth and his children Kevin, Sam and Niki and their spouses Sandy, Mike and Rob. Thank you for being with us.

Harry was a man loved by many. And there was a lot to love and admire about him.

He had a passion for life that was infectious and inspirational. This passion and his thirst for knowledge drove him to have many varied interests. And he was always determined to be as successful as possible at whatever interested him.

Speaking to his family and friends over the last week there was a constant theme of just how much Harry packed into his life. More than one person commented on how it made one reconsider your own life and how much more you could be doing.

On Monday Kevin spoke about how Harry managed to squeeze two lifetimes into one. Even over the last year Harry was taking on online astronomy course through an American University.

Here at Royal Cape we know about his love of sailing, pretty girls and Castle beer. He was also a very talented musician, computer programmer and teacher.

But I think his family was his greatest joy. Harry was enormously proud of all of them and especially loved spending time with his 7 grandchildren. In fact Harry loved all children and was extremely good with them.

A special memory of mine is of an afternoon when just Harry and I took my two young sons out on FTI. It was one of those perfect winter days. We flew the spinnaker and my boys and I stood on the foredeck watching a pod of dolphins playing around the bow, while Harry was at the helm with a huge smile on his face. He loved introducing kids to sailing and has made sure that FTI will continue to sail and be available for his grandchildren.

But it was not only children that Harry introduced to sailing. He was always willing to take people out who had never sailed before (particularly if they were female) and encouraged them to take an active part. Barnaby related on Monday how this normally involved assigning the completely green (sometimes in more ways than one) crew to the runners and telling them that if they got it wrong the mast would fall down.

Harry had a very diverse crew list from which he selected for races. Obviously there were almost always women on board and the crew’s ages range across quite a few decades. Although most of us are Cape Townian, and quite a few of us were at school together, FTI has always had a strong German contingent on board.

Speaking of German crew I would like to read out a message from Dietmar who is in Germany at the moment.

“Dear Keith,

you left us too early, but with lots of lovely memories.

We were blessed to share wonderful times with you on and around the boat.

We and especially I as second or sometimes 3rd senior enjoyed the young creative spirit on board of FTI and I am grateful that you accepted or even liked to have some Germans on the boat as long as they were not singing or talking about "thinking".

Even when your boat was close to being "over-krauted" you  enjoyed it and offered rather sooner than later a Castle to drink to our health and friendship.

Dear Keith, thank you for your friendship which will be in our memory for ever!

So lets not say "good bye", lets grab a Castle and say Cheers!

Isabell, Ursel und Dietmar”

Whoever was on board, we always had fun. As we all know, a sailing race can become a little heated at times, but if Keith ever raised his voice or got upset with us, he was always quick to apologise.

Harry was one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever known. I am sure that many of you experienced how difficult it was to buy him a beer. He would always have his wallet out first and insist on paying. The crew would have to race him to the bar to buy the first round.

He was always the first to help anyone in need. If ever another boat was in trouble, Harry was straight on the radio telling them we were standing by and offering assistance. Of course, he was also straight on the radio if he felt the bridge were slipping up and needed some advice, or Luke needed some input on the choice of course!

Harry was also very adventurous. Sometimes to the horror of us crew. More than once as we rounded a mark and bore off on to a tight beam reach in a stonking south-easter, he would call for the spinnaker, while the crew protested that we would never hold it. “Nonsense!” he would say as we promptly got knocked flat. As Kevin would say – what could possibly go wrong?!

His adventurous spirit meant that sailing around the cans in Table Bay was not enough for Harry. He sailed two Cape to Rio races and was ready to do his third in January. He sailed in the Med with Ruth and friends on a few occasions and delivered a yacht from the Med to Cape Town not so long ago.

Although Harry was adventurous, he was always very safety conscious and enjoyed the discipline of yachting. His navigation skills are going to be missed on FTI.

During the last Mykonos Race in February, most of you will remember that the Dassen Island mark was shrouded in fog and very close to shore.  As we approached the mark I was on the helm peering into the gloom, slightly nervous as I knew the shoreline was less than a mile away. Harry’s regular and confident directions from below brought us to within a few hundred metres of the line and we only needed the slightest course correction when we at last saw the mark and boat.

Over the last few months, as Harry became more frail and was not able to helm anymore, he nevertheless joined us on the boat as often as he could and did all the navigation from the chart table.

Petri and I were very privileged to be with Harry on his last sail ten days ago during the double-handed race.

Ruth had assured me that although he was frail, the sail would be good for him. Although it clearly took a huge effort on his part, he never once complained and the only comment he made about his health was that he was “getting old” or that he was “moderate”.

Once we had him settled in at the chart table with his oxygen plugged in, Petri and I got on with the race. It must have been tough for Harry not to offer assistance, but he could not resist a few wry comments. Harry was far too kind to ever be nasty to anyone, but he did gently enquire if we did not think that perhaps the spinnaker could have gone up a bit faster. He also advised me that getting caught between two boats on the start line with no escape route and getting pushed over early (thanks Luke) was ill-advised. “Perhaps I should helm the starts in future,” he said before putting on some classical music.

All of us on FTI are going to miss him. However, Harry made plans for Barnaby and I to continue running the boat and FTI have promised to continue sponsoring us. So beware. FTI Flyer will continue to sail and we will do so in the spirit of Harry. Expect port tack starts and lots of laughter.

One final anecdote. Just before the last double-handed race Petri and Harry were discussing what music Petri should play at his funeral. In true Harry style he said that the funeral should actually be held before he goes so that he can play with Petri and join in the party afterwards.

Ruth, thank you for sharing Harry with us.

Derek Smith

I found a group photo of a course Keith and I ran under the guise of Faculty Consulting.
It was called Principles of IS Management and was held at the Hohenort Hotel in 1986.
Some of the participants were at the service yesterday!

Regards

Derek