Anthony Oshry was an amiable and well-liked classmate, with a calm and steady presence. His particular academic interest at school was biology, and he was an enthusiastic member of the school's Natural History Society. He went on several of the society's expeditions to distant rural and coastal locations, and retained a passion for the bush and sea his whole life. The school yearbook for 1961 included this photo of pupils on a natural history field trip, with Anthony standing at the right:
Anthony married Christine Selley in 1965. This photo, from 50 years later, shows the couple in jovial mood at a fancy dress party:
Anthony and Christine had two daughters and a son: Lisa-Jane was born in 1971, Tracy in 1973, and then Marcus in 1977. Here is a 2019 photo of the family with Marcus and Lisa-Jane at the left, and Tracy at the right:
In 1975 Anthony bought a farm which he worked in his spare time, initially just with some greenhouses where he grew tomatoes and cucumbers. Next, Anthony tried strawberries, but these proved to take up too much space to be worth the effort. He then grew flowers, primarily yellow Hypericum for export to Holland. This product was very successful -- but then air freight charges increased so much that the line was no longer profitable. So Anthony concentrated on cucumbers and herbs, with great success. His daughter Tracy joined him in running the farm and the business grew until in 1987 he took early retirement from Shatterprufe to become a full time farmer. Here are Anthony and Tracy at the farm:
Anthony's land totalled 60 hectares (about 150 acres), but he kept most of the terrain in its indigenous state with original forest and wildlife. Anthony and Tracy encouraged school groups to visit the property to experience both cultivated crops and natural woodland, to the delight of the pupils!
With the farm running well, Anthony took off more time to do what he loved. He was a squash player for all of his life, and played for Eastern Province for many years. He built a squash court on his property and had his own club called the Jokers team, which played league every week. He enjoyed the game so much that played it until the age of 78!
Anthony would also go to the bush at least twice a year with his friends and family. Motswari game reserve was his favourite destination -- he had a timeshare at a camp there, and visited regularly for twenty years. He also organised visits to Botswana and spent many trips in the Okavango swamps. Anthony loved 4x4 trips and participated in 4x4 competitions just for fun:
And Anthony loved the ocean as much as he loved the bush. He and friends chartered sailboats for several adventures in the waters of Turkey, Greece, Thailand, and the Seychelles.
In 2011, though, Anthony cancelled a planned sailing trip in South East Asia in order to attend our 50 Year reunion in Durban --- and told us he was very glad he had made that choice! Here he is at the reunion, chatting with classmates Jack Shapiro and David Douglas:
Anthony's children all married and eventually produced a total of nine grandchildren:
Unfortunately Anthony's wife Christine became ill with multiple sclerosis. Anthony was devoted to her care, but she passed away in 2021.
In April of the following year, 2022, Anthony had an accident while attending a 4x4 competition. He was walking down a steep hill but fell, and his head hit a rock. Anthony spent four months in hospital and transitional care, but was left with brain trauma so serious that he required 24 hour care at home. On 23 May 2024, Anthony passed away.
Anthony Oshry is survived by his three children, Lisa-Jane, Tracy and Marcus; their spouses Dewald, Michael and Alison; and his grandchildren -- Lisa-Jane's two sons, Joshua and Julian, Tracy’s three children Matthew, Justin and Keri, and Marcus’s four daughters, Taylor, Madison, Camryn and Kaitlyn. All live in the Port Elizabeth area.
[Special thanks to Anthony's daughter Tracy for all her help with this In Memory notice]
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