Ralph Vember’s son, Rob, has a treasured memory of standing on the corner near their home in Athlone, Cape Town, waiting for the “caboose” — the Golden Arrow workers' bus — that would bring his dad home every day.“It was just a very short walk home but just that kind of excitement that he was home. He carried a proper old-school briefcase and inevitably there’d be something in there that I’d be intrigued by, whether it was a new pen or something completely random.
Ralph, who died in Cape Town on May 29 at the age of 71, loved music, gardening, sport and making curry. At church he sat three rows from the front, first at St Paul’s in District Six and later at St John’s in Bellville where he was councilman. Born in District 6 on March 10 1949, Ralph had to quit school at the age of 14 when his father died to find work to look after the family. He later got a job at the Golden Arrow bus company where he spent the rest of his working life.
An ardent Manchester United fan, Rob dreamt of taking his father to Old Trafford one day, but it was not to be.“We had 15 people attending a service of 45 minutes, everyone appropriately distanced. The worst part, for me, is that he died alone. And for my dad to die alone ... it’s just been the most devastating thing to think that he was lying there on his own.”“My mom just offered me the Sunday Times, which was delivered late last night.