NIEU-BETHESDA NEWS - The Nieu-Bethesda community was saddened last week by the death of Alf James (62) on 5 May.

Alf was a journalist who lived with his wife Brenda and teenage children Brendan, Tessa and Tammy on the farm Compassberg to the North of the village.

Alf moved to Nieu-Bethesda about 20 years ago after renovating a cottage for his mother, Val and her husband, Frank Milray.

The Nieu-Bethesda community celebrated when Alf met and married Brenda in 2001, and they settled on the remote farm Compassberg, tucked behind the iconic mountain. The couple delighted in the arrival of their children Brendan and twins Tessa and Tammy in the early 2000s.

A former anti-apartheid student leader at Wits University in the 1980s, Alf became a newspaper journalist in Johannesburg as a young man – a profession which he continued to pursue even after moving to the Karoo. 

In the last few years, Alf became passionately involved with the Karoo Mighty Men Conference after becoming a committed Christian. 

At the time of his death he was working on the book The KMMC Journey of Faith and Prayer, which is still in production.

Alf became ill unexpectedly nine weeks prior to his death on 5 May in ICU in Bloemfontein and Brenda and the children made many trips to the city. 

According to Gateway News, Brenda said Alf was a man of God and he didn’t waver from his belief in any way. "He didn’t compromise. From the time he committed his life to God he followed God more than most would have done."

Alf James’s funeral was held at the Groot Kerk in Nieu-Bethesda, the village which meant a great deal to him. Moving tributes were made by friends and family

Alf James leaves his wife Brenda, children Brendan, Tessa and Tammy and his brother Stanley.

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