Sarel Marais, the first voice to air on East Coast Radio (then called Radio Port Natal), passed away on June 7, 2021, after a long fight with cancer.
Marais was born and raised in Bloemfontein, attended school in Benoni and later moved back to Bloemfontein where he studied BA Law at Kovsies.
He started at the SABC and news crew in his early twenties where he would later retire, almost 40 years later.
Keith Millar, Technical Producer at Radio Port Natal at the time, had the following to say about Sarel: “His breakfast show was very popular, if not the most popular. It was the same for his show at Radio Highveld.” He also shared that what people enjoyed about Sarel was that he was fully bilingual.
After a long journey with cancer, already diagnosed in 2016, the illness took his life on June 7, 2021. He fought with poise and dignity until the end. His wife, Patsy, and three children Sarel (jnr), Alise and Alida were with him when he took his last breath on his favourite spot, in the sun on his sea-facing balcony.
“He will always be remembered, by those that knew him, as the man with the golden voice,” says his daughter, Alida.
Posts
