Family and Friends of Theresa Kiviets have remembered the former Lotus River Primary School teacher as a “straight-forward person with high standards”.
Ms Kiviets’s funeral was held at the Old Apostolic Church, in Grassy Park, on Wednesday October 13. Ms Kiviets died on Thursday October 7. She was 82.
Ms Kiviets grew up in Grassy Park. She married John Klaas Kiviets on July 4 1964, and the couple had two sons, Salvan and Brandon.
Her teaching career spans 35 years. Lotus River Primary was the last school she taught at and she retired there at the age of 54. However, according to Salvan, she continued after her retirement to teach adult basic education and training (ABET) classes.
Salvan said his mother had been an avid organist at the Old Apostolic Church, a talented craftswoman and a lover of music. Trustworthy, honest, strict, helpful, high standards, unapologetic and straight-forward were all words that had been used to describe her, he said.
Kathy Segers, her best friend and colleague who taught with her at Lotus River Primary, agreed and said Ms Kiviets “knew exactly what she wanted; she was straight-forward and did not hesitate to express her views”.
“She took her job, as a teacher, very seriously,” she added.
“I knew her as a very principled person with a powerful and loud voice. She would take on any task with gusto. She was a true friend, and we got on very well.
“I could see what a good mother she was when I became her two sons’ Akela (cub leader), at the scouts. I saw how she had shown her grandchildren genuine interest, and she was the kind of grandmother you would want.”