Reinette W. Uys 1929-2021

She was born in 1929, in Uitenhage, South Africa, the daughter of David Schalk and Maryna McKay Weidemann, the parents of 12 children.

Her father was in the railroad business serving auto plants in Uitenhage. The Weidemanns and the McKays were from Aberdeen, a small town in the Eastern Cape Province. She married Johannes M. Uys in 1952, and she and her husband moved to the United States in 1955. They lived first in Boston and Pittsburgh. In 1960, they moved to Youngstown, where, except for five years in Chicago, they remained for the rest of their lives. In Youngstown, she dedicated herself to raising her four children and looking after her husband as he pursued a career in the steel industry. They raised their family in Boardman Township and spent their later years on the North Side of Youngstown.

Reinette loved to travel, play tennis, ski, hike, read and socialize. She was an excellent cook and managed to stay slim and fit, despite a love of sweets. She maintained her joie de vivre, her open mind and youthful demeanor late into her life.

After raising her four children, she become active in the Youngstown community. She was a member of the board of directors of Stambaugh Auditorium. She worked tirelessly for four years raising funds for restoring the auditorium’s E. M. Skinner Pipe Organ, which is one of the few remaining ones in the United States. She took pleasure in running and was pleased to win her age group in the Youngstown Peace Race. She was a member of Youngstown Country Club, where she enjoyed tennis and swimming. She devoted herself to volunteer work at Park Vista retirement home, as well as with Planned Parenthood, where she was chair of the Mahoning Valley Chapter.

She suffered through the loss of her son, David, in 1978, and found joy in the lives of her children, Eric Uys, J. Peter Brinker Uys of Atlanta, and Tina and Peter Bedell of Chicago; her grandchildren, David and Caroline; and beloved family friend, Charles T. Wingo of Atlanta.

She was a caring, devoted mother and grandmother.

Estelle van Jaarsveldt is her only surviving sibling. In addition to her immediate family, she is survived by 32 nieces and nephews and their children in South Africa, England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Oman, New Zealand and Zimbabwe.

There are no services.

Arrangements were by Rossi Brothers and Lellio Funeral Home, Boardman.

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