A presence in the travel industry for many decades, Maureen de la Rue, died peacefully in her sleep earlier this month.
Maureen’s love of travel originated from her parents’ diverse cultural backgrounds and international war-time romance. The couple met in Italy during World War II with Maureen’s dad, a South African soldier, returning home with his young Italian wife who did not speak a word of English. As soon as Maureen was old enough she moved to the UK where she lived and worked for about two years. It was here that she met Mike, who would become her husband and partner of over 40 years. The couple travelled extensively enjoying an adventurous honeymoon touring Europe. When they moved back to Africa they lived in Rhodesia and Swaziland before settling in Cape Town with their two young children.
Friends and family recount that Maureen had a zest for life and was always excited to discover new things and places. Being half Italian she loved good food. She adored her family and was a very softhearted person who hated conflict; her children recall her sneaking chocolates into their bedrooms after lights out when they were little. She also had a great sense of humour, often getting the giggles in the most inappropriate of situations, friends say.
Maureen worked in travel her whole life and loved what she did. She spent more than 20 years at Indojet Travel in both consulting and management roles before taking some time off to be with her grandchildren. She then re-entered the industry taking up a consulting position at Sure Travelways Durbanville branch where she worked for the past 12 years.
“Maureen’s depth of travel knowledge and destinations was boundless and she loved nothing better than to have a good natter about a favourite city or country. She was warm and kind and will be missed by all who knew her,” said manager of Sure Travelways, Pam Bedford.
“Maureen will be greatly missed at Travelways. It is not easy to find a consultant of her calibre these days,” said owner of Sure Travelways, Richard Gelb.
Manager of Sure Travelways Durbanville, Marie Howarth, told Travel News that Maureen was more than a colleague. “She was a good friend and was often like a second mother to me. She was very intuitive, thoughtful and caring and absolutely adored her family,” added Marie.
“On behalf of the board, management and members of the Sure Travel Group we bid a sad farewell to Maureen, which is particularly difficult at this time,” said ceo of Sure Travel, Vanya Lessing.
