The drowned body of Professor Steve de Gruchy, was found in the Mooi River by police divers and dogs on Wednesday. De Gruchy was the head of the school of religion and theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Pietermaritzburg campus.
De Gruchy was tubing with his son, David, 15, on Sunday when he came off his tube as they approached rapids. Teams searched frantically for him for almost three days until his body was eventually recovered about 700m downriver from where he initially disappeared.
Professor de Gruchy was an ordained minister in the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA), the Editor of the Journal of Theology for Southern Africa since 2003, as well as serving as Head of Theology in Pietermaritzburg. He was respected throughout international theological circles for his work.
The university website (http://www.ukzn.ac.za) includes the following information in his academic profile:
“Prof de Gruchy has always had a lively academic and practical interest in the interface between the Christian faith and social ethics. During his student years at the University of Cape Town he served on the Student Representative Council, was active in the student anti-apartheid movement, a signatory to the Kairos Document, and was a Conscientious Objector to military service. His work in the under-resourced rural area of Kuruman continued this focus where he helped establish NGOs working in the field of land rights, small business development, early childhood development, and leadership training. His academic work has all drawn from that praxis, and continues to be constantly informed by ongoing engagement with people working at community level, especially his students from throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Most recently he has been engaged in research work on the interface between religion and health in Africa in the context of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, and with a specific focus on Zambia.”
A local Pietermaritzburg minister and fellow lecturer at the University, the Rev. Delme Linscott wrote the following tribute for his blog (included here by his permission):
“I join with many sad family and friends as we mourn the loss of Prof Steve De Gruchy. While tubing with his family on Sunday, tragedy struck and he went missing in the river. His body was found this morning. We are all in shock and send our prayers, love and support to his family.
Last Friday Steve and I briefly chatted while we were both making photocopies at the Varsity. He asked how I was doing and I enquired about his heavy workload. His daughter stood next to him whilst we chatted and I remember thinking, "She loves and admires her dad! How awesome!"
Little did I ever expect the tragedy that has now unfolded.
Although we were not close friends, in a sense, I still feel an overwhelming heaviness and numbness. It should not end like this:(
Pray for the De Gruchy family at this time. The memorial service will be on Saturday.
Rest in Peace, Steve. “