Charles Landau

Welcome to our CaringBridge website for Charles Landau.  This is a private website: friends and family can participate after receiving an invitation. If you want an invitation, you can request one via the website or the app.

It is for dissemination of updates on a much-loved person. It does have functionalities for donations and assisting but we are not soliciting for those as Charles is on a fantastic plan on the government medical aid.

As you will probably know, Charles is a retired headmaster, geography teacher, cricket/hockey/soccer coach, mentor to teenagers for 40 years; more importantly he is very charming, bright, engaging and a proper mensch of note.

He is  95 years old and "not out". He retired from teaching at the end of 1986 as the first principal of Town View High School in Krugerdorp from 1977 -1986 so he has been retired for just less than most people work before retiring (34 years and counting).
He was diagnosed a few years ago with Parkinson's Disease and mainly has balance and walking symptoms of Parkinson's. Charles walks short distances with a stick and longer distances with a walker (Zimmer frame) with wheels.  He loves going out for a meal, to visit family or to go a mall when we do the weekly shopping.

He is also quite deaf but uses hearing aids in both ears so he hears people (in person and on the phone) and the audio on TV clearly unless there is lots of background noise.  He watches a lot of cricket, tennis, golf and rugby on DSTV and also enjoys every season of Strictly Come Dancing.

He is proficient at WhatsApp on his phone, and checks Facebook and his emails on his ancient MacBook (it was old when he was given it 10 years ago and was introduced to PCs for the first time). He checks Facebook daily and enters the local maximum and minimum temperatures (and rainfall when there is ) in a spreadsheet on his laptop. He plays Scrabble on Facebook with two Krugersdorp High alumni from about 50 years ago, Alan Gordon and Geoff Norris. He also plays Facebook Scrabble with his caregiver, Ruvimbo Kadungure (usually in the same room)! He plays several rounds of Rummy each day and sometimes plays Rummikub or chess (with Marianne). His memory is still very good although like all of us his short-term memory is not so good.

He lives in a flat in Observatory, Johannesburg, with his youngest daughter, Wendy, and Ruvimbo (during the week). His other daughters, Marianne and Val, live in Johannesburg and see him frequently. Also in Johannesburg are four of his grandchildren, two grandchildren-in-laws, and three of his six great grandchildren. His brother (who is 18 months younger than him) lives nearby as does his niece.  Three grandchildren, granddaughter-in-laws and three great -grandchildren are scattered around the world in Cape Town, Abu Dhabi and the Far East. HIs first wife, Shirley, died in November 1989 at the age of 60 from emphysema.

He also has extended step-family mainly in Durban, Cape Town and Florida SA: step-children, step-grandchildren  and step-greatgrandchildren (and their in-laws) He married Queenie in 1997. In 2002 they moved to Durban where most of her family was living. Queenie passed away in October 2017 and Charles moved back to Gauteng a year later at the end of September 2018.

Initiated by Wendy Landau (youngest daughter) on 11 January 2020.