We have come together this afternoon to do 3 things:
First, we want to thank God for the eminently worthwhile life of Sydney William McCreath who has died in his 82nd year;
Secondly, we want to pay our tribute to all that he accomplished and to all that was beautiful and noble in his character and personality; and thirdly, we want to commend his eternal spirit into the hands of the God who created him and loved him and whom he in turn loved and served through all the years of his life.
The supreme truth about Sydney McCreath is that he was simply a thoroughly loving and lovable person. For all of us, he stands out surely as one of the finest persons it has ever been our privilege to meet. By any standards which we may choose to measure the value and worthwhileness of a human life, Sydney McCreath emerges as a truly outstanding and remarkable person. When one considers all that he achieved, especially in the field of Law, when one considers the brilliance of his intellect; when one considers the many rich facets of his personality – so warm and friendly; so caring and courteous; so firm and rocklike in integrity; so wise and gentle, so dignified and yet so humble; so loved, honoured and respected by all who knew him – when one considers all this, one is compelled to conclude that we lay to rest today a truly unique and splendid gentleman. Yes, without a doubt, you and I have been deeply privileged to have known this man and to have been able to call him friend and loved one.
And yet, of course, like all truly great people, he himself would never have accepted from his fellows such an evaluation of himself. He would be the first to protest strongly that our assessment of his life and accomplishments is hopelessly exaggerated and extravagant – for despite the beautiful person that he was, despite a life-time of prodigious achievement, Sydney McCreath remained to the end a quiet-spoken, unassuming and humble servant of God. On the day before he became unconscious, I was visiting him in hospital. His mind was clear but his speech indistinct and laboured. As I prayed with him, I frankly praised God for the kind of person he was, for the beauty and worthwhileness of his life; for his achievements. When I had finished, he opened his eyes and looked up at me and whispered: “I am not worthy of your prayer”. That could have been among the last things Sydney ever said, for early the next day he became unconscious and never spoke again.
The Christian faith teaches that all worthwhile human endeavour is the fruit of the gifts and graces with which God graciously endows his human family, from the lowliest to the highest – and it is clear that Sydney accepted his life in these terms. He would be the first to insist that if indeed his life was of any value, if indeed it had been rich in achievements, then it was merely all by the grace of God: the fruit of the gifts and abilities with which God had endowed him. I believe this is how Sydney understood his life and work – and therein is to be found the secret of the greatness of his personhood.
Sydney McCreath was born in Pretoria on the 14th March 1922 of parents who had come from Scotland. Although fully committed to South Africa in loyalty and allegiance, he nevertheless retained a deep pride in his Scottish ancestry and especially in the McCreath clan. From his parents he absorbed so many of those excellent qualities which we associate with the Scots as a people: God-fearing, honesty, thrift, industry and resourcefulness – all qualities which we saw richly displayed in his character. After his primary education he went to Pretoria Boys’ High where he matriculated in 1938. He proved to be a brilliant scholar, having been the top pupil in his class throughout his high school career. After leaving school, he began working in the Town Clerk’s Department of the Pretoria City Council and also commenced his law studies extramurally at Pretoria University. At the end of 1940, at the tender age of 18, he volunteered to join the army and was commissioned in 1942. He was subsequently seconded to the British Army and saw action in North Africa and the Middle East.
After the war he returned to his work with the City Council and continued his law studies, obtained his B.A. Law and two years later his Bachelor of Laws. He worked for a time as an attorney but in 1956 joined the Pretoria Bar and became an advocate. Such was the success and quality of his work as an advocate that he was appointed first as an acting judge and then later, in 1980, as a permanent judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court. In this high office he became known in the legal world for the care with which he wrote and delivered his judgements, for his scrupulous impartiality and for his skill at tempering justice with mercy. In fact he was every inch a judge – in his bearing, in his measured selection of language and in his logical penetration to the heart of a problem. In time he became a recognised authority in the field of copy-right and trade marks. Although he officially retired a few years ago, he still presided over the Trade Marks Tribunal and was actively involved in his profession as recently as last month.
During the course of this tribute I have alluded to the many beautiful qualities in Sydney’s character and personality which we have recognised in him. I want briefly to emphasise just three of these:
First: I have always felt that Sydney was a man of considerable strength – not so much physical strength, although I am sure he possessed that, for right to the end he kept himself remarkably fit through walking – no! not so much physical strength but rather inner moral, spiritual and emotional strength, which gave to his life a rocklike and immovable quality. His was the kind of strength upon which people in need could lean and gain encouragement and support for themselves, to face their problems and burdens and win through. He possessed a calmness which gave assurance of a person always under self-control.
Second: Sydney always impressed me as a man of complete integrity – utterly honest, trustworthy and reliable. In these days in which selfish opportunism is regarded almost as a virtue, he was a comparatively rare phenomenon. One only had to look into those frank clear eyes to recognise that here was a man free of guile and dissimulation.
Third: Sydney had a deep respect and love for people – all people, irrespective of their race or station. He conducted himself towards others with an almost old world charm and courtesy. One can never imagine him to be rude or aggressive towards others, or in anyway make others feel uncomfortable. He knew and appreciated the best as well as the worst in human nature and although he set high moral and personal standards for himself, he was tolerant of the faults and failures of others.
Sydney married Anita in 1962, both entering into their second marriages, with an instant family of 5 children to which were added from their marriage two further sons. For Sydney, rich and stable family life was a matter of supreme importance and although his career increasingly demanded his time and energies, he always endeavoured to give of himself to his family. Among the cherished family memories – and to which he often referred – was their annual holiday at the Wilderness which they enjoyed over several years. Father and mother and all seven children, often with a grandmother, friend or dog, would crowd into a kombi and make their way down to the Wilderness where they would occupy a cottage right on that beautiful beach, with the sea lapping at their door. Sharing with the children in their games on the beach and in the water was for him not only a source of renewal from the ravages of his work, but also an opportunity for him to deepen and cement his bond with each of his precious children. That annual excursion was to a degree re-enacted just a year ago when his whole family – all the children and grandchildren assembled at a holiday resort at Sedgefield near the Wilderness, and celebrated together Sydney’s 80th birthday. It was for Sydney, Anita and the family a wonderful and memorable occasion. He told me later how much he enjoyed really getting to know his grandchildren.
No tribute to Sydney McCreath would be complete without reference to the warmth and reality of his Christian life – to his commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and to his love for God as his Heavenly Father. And because he loved and honoured God, he loved and honoured his Church. He was confirmed here in this Church while at High School and during the past 10 years he and Anita have been deeply involved in its leadership. He regularly read the Scriptures at our morning services and as a Society Steward, praying with the preacher in the vestry before going into the pulpit, his prayers were a sheer benediction, revealing the depth of his devotion and the closeness of his walk with God.
And so we pay this inadequate tribute to this beautiful, splendid gentleman. Our lives are immeasurably richer because he once walked this way; because his life touched ours; because we were privileged to know him. In our faith as Christians we commend his eternal spirit into the care of Almighty God. It is our conviction that he is now at home with God, in His very presence, united with loved-ones who have gone before. We do not think of him as one who is now more gloriously alive than ever he was here upon earth, not entombed in the dark shadows of the vast speechlessness of Death but translated into the very brightness and joy of the Father’s House.
We extend our deep sympathies in their sad loss to Anita, to all the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, to Sydney’s sister Ella and to any other members of his family. Our prayer for you all is that God’s peace and joy shall sustain and strengthen you in your bereavement at this time and in the days ahead. We rejoice with you in the certainty that Your loved one and our friend, Sydney William McCreath, is at home with his Heavenly Father and that in Him he is safe, happy and complete.