Family and friends celebrated the life of Pink Ladies organisation founder Dessie Rechner in Timour Hall Villa Estate, Plumstead on Friday afternoon.
Rechner, fondly known as Nana, who died on June 13, became a household name in the Western Cape and around the country after she founded the organisation in 2007, following the disappearance and murder of seven-year-old Sheldean Human of Pretoria.
The little girl had been wearing a pink top and denim skirt, and it was for that reason the organisation was started and received its name.
Rechner, 76, became the director and spearheaded hundreds of searches for children and missing adults. She also ran an identity card programme for children, where their photograph and fingerprints would be accessible to the police in the event they went missing.
Over the past month, messages of condolence have been posted on social media and on the organisation’s website.
Her daughter Tracy Yokitul remembered her as a workaholic and sport fanatic who enjoyed tennis or golf.
“She was a strong, single parent and I was the only child. She was divorced and had to raise me alone. She worked 24/7.
“So we did not spend much time together. But every Saturday she would take me to lunch in Golden Acre and then she would play tennis or golf,” she said.
Yokitul said the lessons she learned from her mom was that everything she does, she would give it her whole effort and as a result now she was able to sustain her own business.
“I got a salon and she taught me how to be a strong woman. I was never allowed to feel sorry for myself.
“When she passed on, everyone started asking, are you not going to take some time off? And I said no, you are mad, my mother would kill me,” she laughed.
Friend of more than 15 years and co-founder of the Pink Ladies, Jacqui Thomas, said Rechner’s death had left her sad and robbed her of a good friend.
“Her passing was saddening because we knew each other for nearly 20 years.
“It was difficult because even though we were not seeing each other every day, we were always (chatting) on the phone call, message or email,” she said.
Rechner said they first met via an online crime forum before they knew each other.
“We had two cases of missing children. We decided that as single parents we can do something about it to help society,” she concluded.