Rob Hillary passes away

Date: 18 December 2016 By: Isabel Venter

A renowned businessman of the Soutpansberg, the 62-year-old Mr Rob Hillary, died unexpectedly last Wednesday evening, 7 December, due to a ruptured aorta.

Rob had been undergoing treatment for lung cancer and last Thursday would have been his final treatment. According to Rob’s family, he had been coping very well with the treatment with few side effects and his death was largely unrelated to the treatment.

Rob retired from Hillary Construction in 2009 and later as a director in 2014. He also started Masequa Bricks during 2005.

Rob endeared himself to friends, colleagues and employees alike. He knew how to read people and get the best out of them. “Rob always stood by his word. He mentored many junior employees into senior management. He was ‘Mr Fixit’, if something was nigh impossible to get right, Rob was the man to sort it out,” said the family.

Rob lived life to the full. He loved his family dearly and was true and faithful to his friends. He worked extremely hard and could also party hard. He was always up for a challenge.  

Apart from his business interests, Rob also found time for the less privileged. He was a member of Round Table Impala 157 in Polokwane. His was also a member of the Limpopo Classic Car Club and the Louis Trichardt 4x4 Club, as well as the Bravo anti-poaching group and farm watch north of the Soutpansberg. Rob loved anything mechanical for which he had a natural affinity and in recent years took up restoring old cars and motorbikes. “He was one of a kind,” said the family.

Rob will be sorely missed by his children, Helen, Ann and Richard and his seven grandchildren, partner Jessie, sister Susan, brothers Ed and John, as well as by Leonie and Annamarie, all his friends and his colleagues at Hillary Construction and Masequa Bricks.

There will be a funeral for Rob held at the Mt Horeb Presbyterian Church (corner of Grobler and Brown Street in Polokwane) at 14:00 on Thursday, 15 December.

A special memorial service will be held on his farm Windhoek, north of the Soutpansberg at 11:00 on Wednesday, 14 December.

The family would like to thank his partner Jessie Bird for all the love, help and support she gave him right up to his last breath.

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Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

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