Poet and author dies in Las Vegas

Peter John Philander (84) died in Las Vegas on 07 Feb 2006 after suffering a heart attack in December. The South African poet, author and former teacher is survived by his sons, George (a professor at Princeton), Dennis (a psychiatrist in Minneapolis) and Peter (a doctor in Las Vegas). He also had a step-son, Ronald Harker, a retired school inspector in Port Elizabeth. PJ had 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. His wife, Alice, died in 1988. He was born in Caledon. He emigrated to the USA in 1968. His first poetry book was Uurglas, published in 1955. His novel, Rebunie, based on his teaching experiences in Calvinia, was published in 2000. PJ was a teacher and later principal at Hoërskool Belgravia in Cape Town. He also taught at high schools in Malmesbury, Genadendal, Caledon, Plettenberg Bay and Calvinia. From 1968 to 2000, he taught at Friend's Academy, a Quaker school on Long Island. He moved to Las Vegas in 2002. During his last visit to South Africa, he was given the freedom of Caledon, and a street was named in his honour.