Fons’ death has not only shocked and saddened me, but it has also left me in a state of silence, loneliness and a deep feeling of loss. I met Fons during November 2002 in Tilburg while accompanying Deon Meiring, his PhD student and Ian Rothmann, my PhD supervisor. It was a Friday night at about 21:00. This was already an indication that I am meeting somebody extraordinary because not many are still in the office at that stage of the week. Fons and Ype treated us to dinner that night and their hospitality and humility was quite noticing then and remained a key feature of Fons life. You never got the impression that you interacting with a person of his stature when you with him. He always treated others with respect and he always considered the views of others. What a gentle giant. We started a project in 2004 and was able to analyze our first dataset in 2005. This project, later on, formed the basis for many of our publications and my own second PhD with Tilburg. He, later on, becomes a mentor, friend and yes even family. He and Ype played a central role in bringing the IACCP conference to South Africa in 2012. It was especially during this stage that I realize that I am quite honoured to be working with this giant. You meant a lot to me, Fons. Thank you, Deon and Ian, for sharing Fons with me. Fons was always a Skype call away with free advice, but he is no more. However, his memories will continue forever. No doubt, we, the scientific world, society in general and especially the emerging scientists of the developing world have lost, BIG TIME. May his soul rest in peace
Fons’ death has not only shocked and saddened me, but it has also left me in a state of silence, loneliness and a deep feeling of loss. I met Fons during November 2002 in Tilburg while accompanying Deon Meiring, his PhD student and Ian Rothmann, my PhD supervisor. It was a Friday night at about 21:00. This was already an indication that I am meeting somebody extraordinary because not many are still in the office at that stage of the week. Fons and Ype treated us to dinner that night and their hospitality and humility was quite noticing then and remained a key feature of Fons life. You never got the impression that you interacting with a person of his stature when you with him. He always treated others with respect and he always considered the views of others. What a gentle giant. We started a project in 2004 and was able to analyze our first dataset in 2005. This project, later on, formed the basis for many of our publications and my own second PhD with Tilburg. He, later on, becomes a mentor, friend and yes even family. He and Ype played a central role in bringing the IACCP conference to South Africa in 2012. It was especially during this stage that I realize that I am quite honoured to be working with this giant. You meant a lot to me, Fons. Thank you, Deon and Ian, for sharing Fons with me. Fons was always a Skype call away with free advice, but he is no more. However, his memories will continue forever. No doubt, we, the scientific world, society in general and especially the emerging scientists of the developing world have lost, BIG TIME. May his soul rest in peace
