Tributes pour in for respected POST columnist Dennis Pather

DENNIS Pather, esteemed South African journalist, author and former editor of several leading publications including the Daily News and the POST, passed away peacefully this morning, December 7, at 7.23am.

With a career spanning over four decades, Pather was renowned for his 'Just Saying' column in the POST and his dedication to journalism, second only to his devotion to his family -  his wonderful wife Kay and children, Brendan and Nisha.

Pather's fortnightly column 'Just Saying' was a firm favourite with the POST readership.

After studying at the University College at Salisbury Island (later the University of Durban-Westville), his career in journalism began in 1967 as a reporter on the POST and Drum magazine and later with The Leader and The Graphic.

He joined the Argus Group of newspapers as a journalist on the Daily News and went on to serve as editor of that newspaper as well as The Mercury, the Independent on Saturday and the POST and was deputy editor of the Sunday Tribune when he retired in 2010.

He studied journalism at the International Institute of Journalism in Berlin and as a former Nieman Fellow; he spent a year's sabbatical at Harvard University in the United States in 1987/88.

The POST editor Yogas Nair extended her heartfelt condolences to Pather's family.

"Dennis was a cherished friend and mentor who will be dearly missed. His passion for storytelling and his unique sense of humour have created lasting memories that his friends and colleagues will treasure forever," said Nair.

POST