Hundreds of hartseer Hanover Park residents gatheredon Monday to say their final farewells to beloved oupa Bertram Steer who died in a drive-by shooting last week.
Shortly after 8am, residents gathered on an open veldjie in Athsur Walk to support the grieving family of the 52-year-old who was widely known as Uncle Berty.
Tears flowed as friends, who had rushed Uncle Berty to hospital on the day he was shot, carried his coffin onto a gravel patch as the funeral service got under way.
The father of four, who worked as a draughtsman, died on 26 July while sitting and chatting in a car with his friends in Hanover Park Avenue.
Residents say a group of skollies came driving by and the occupants opened fire in the street and Uncle Berty was hit several times while his two friends were injured.
A young girl was also shot in the leg.
Uncle Berty had celebrated his 29th wedding anniversary with his wife Veronica, 55, just two days before he was killed.
After the shooting, his friends drove frantically to Heideveld Emergency Centre, but he was declared dead in the passenger seat of the car.
Veronica says the family opted to have an open funeral service following the overwhelming response from the community, who feared they would be unable to attend the funeral due to the restrictions on public gatherings.
His family were seated around his coffin, while residents stood watching proceedings.
Uncle Berty was raised in Hanover Park and while in matric at Mount View High School, he was made the head boy and a member of the Hanover Park Youth Movement.
Veronica said: “Since Berty died, we have received lots of support from the community. We decided to have an open funeral so that the people who knew him could get a chance to say goodbye.
“But because we needed to control the numbers, we knew having it in the church the numbers would be restricted.
“I was pleased to see how many people came out for him and that speaks to his legacy and the person he was, but today was also a reminder of how unfairly he was taken away from his family.”
Uncle Berty was laid to rest at Klip Road Cemetery and the investigation into his murder continues.