Pillar of education passes on
Former Narraville Primary School (NPS) principal and philanthropist Jan Opperman died at the age of 87 on Saturday evening.
Opperman was hospitalised on a number of occasions during the past few months and passed away at his home after a long sickbed.
He will be buried in Walvis Bay and is survived by a sister and a brother.
He never married and had no children.
Opperman played an integral part in the education of many as well as the expansion of NPS after his arrival as a young mathematics teacher in Narraville from Orchard in South Africa in 1974.
He joined NPS as a deputy headmaster and eventually became the fourth headmaster of the institution.
He will be remembered as a staunch disciplinarian and the founder of the first NPS brass band.
Opperman made a tremendous impact in the community and on the quality of education. He touched many lives across all spheres of the community and continued doing so as a philanthropist after his retirement. A street was subsequently named after him in Narraville.
Paul Fisher the current NPS principal said Opperman never gave up on his calling as a teacher, fought the good battle and completed the race.
“He was an all-rounder who specialised in teaching mathematics.
He left behind a strong set of ethics and discipline.”
OTIS FINCK
Opperman was hospitalised on a number of occasions during the past few months and passed away at his home after a long sickbed.
He will be buried in Walvis Bay and is survived by a sister and a brother.
He never married and had no children.
Opperman played an integral part in the education of many as well as the expansion of NPS after his arrival as a young mathematics teacher in Narraville from Orchard in South Africa in 1974.
He joined NPS as a deputy headmaster and eventually became the fourth headmaster of the institution.
He will be remembered as a staunch disciplinarian and the founder of the first NPS brass band.
Opperman made a tremendous impact in the community and on the quality of education. He touched many lives across all spheres of the community and continued doing so as a philanthropist after his retirement. A street was subsequently named after him in Narraville.
Paul Fisher the current NPS principal said Opperman never gave up on his calling as a teacher, fought the good battle and completed the race.
“He was an all-rounder who specialised in teaching mathematics.
He left behind a strong set of ethics and discipline.”
OTIS FINCK
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