Pretoria - Staff at the Pretoria News are in mourning yet again following the death of veteran copy sub editor John Topping.
He becomes the third Pretoria News stalwart to die in recent months.
In October last year, former Pretoria News editor Val Boje died in hospital in the capital, and next was her erstwhile deputy, Jos Charle, in April this year.
Topping took his last breath at a hospital in the city this week.
At the height of his career, he was a chief sub and assistant editor.
He left the Pretoria News for a short while to work at a motoring magazine, returning again as copy and revise sub-editor when current digital editor Damian Paterson was chief sub editor.
In recent years, Topping was contracted as copy and revise sub-editor at the Pretoria News, his professional home in a career that spanned more that 40 years.
Renata Ford, Independent Media’s national production editor, said: “I was shocked and saddened when I heard John Topping had died.
“John and I met 31 years ago when I was a fresh-faced, shy 18-year-old, before I joined the Pretoria News team. He was instantly likeable and we became firm friends.
“John was a warm, giving, gentle soul. He was bubbly and fun-loving and we shared many a glass of red wine, Jameson’s and Irish coffees over the years. Whether it was over deep meaningful discussions or silly banter, I always enjoyed his company.
“John cared deeply for his friends and colleagues. He loved the Pretoria News, and his work, which he took great pride in. He was often my go-to-person on issues of style and media law. John was a true professional who focused on getting things right.
“John, I will miss you both personally and professionally. I am heartbroken. I thank you for your friendship, your guidance, your support, your mentorship and your dedication and loyalty to me and the team all these years. I hope you knew how much you were valued and how much you were loved. May your dear soul rest in peace.
“Condolences to John’s friends, colleagues, sister Rachel and Ceinwin. May you find peace in happy memories.”
Long-time colleague and senior reporter Zelda Venter said the media industry and Pretoria News were poorer following the death of Topping. “He was a legend. I knew about him before I joined the Pretoria News in 1997.
“As a young reporter, I was in awe of Topping and his friends in the industry. But once I joined the Pretoria News I discovered John was not only a cool guy; he was in fact one of the nicest people who crossed my path.
“I have immense respect for John’s knowledge of the English language. I also had respect for the fact that he would always call me before he made major changes to my copy. And he was always extremely nice and polite about it.
“I heard that John was the son of an Anglican priest. Although he was – in his younger days – at the forefront of any party, it was clear that he had an impeccable upbringing.”
His former boss Paterson said: “I first met John Topping soon after I started at the Pretoria News in the works department in 1987, and we eventually became very close friends.
“We had some memorable times together throughout the decades laughing, joking, drinking, partying, fishing, travelling and even at a stage living together for a few months after we had both split up with our then-girlfriends. We shared some special moments and there was never a dull one with John’s clever, wicked sense of humour.
“His headline writing was top-class and, when necessary, included very clever wit. One I fondly recall was ‘Effluent suburb of the stinking rich’, headlining a story on how a sewage pipe had burst and was flooding Sandton. John, you are gone but will not be forgotten. Rest well, my friend!”
Pretoria News editor Piet Rampedi said: “A brilliant journalist, he paid attention to details, wrote eye-catching headlines and had a knack for a good story. Even on tight deadlines, we knew that John would perform his magic and revise the paper without any mistakes. We are profoundly saddened by John’s death.”
Incumbent deputy editor Kennedy Mudzuli concurred, adding he would never “approve a headline or street poster without first consulting with John”.
“From Jacob Zuma’s midnight Cabinet reshuffle to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s so-called family meetings, John was there; we produced those late-night front pages together. There was none like him.”
Another among the newer generation at the 216 Madiba Street home of the Pretoria News is page sub-editor Tiisetso Mongalo, whose work desk was a few steps from Topping’s for many years.
Mongalo, who has since left the newspaper, said: “He was an amazing friend and mentor. Together we created some of the best headlines. He shall be missed.”
Tania Stapelberg, a former news editor at the Pretoria News, said: “Wit is the first word that springs to mind when I think of John; in the workplace and among friends, he was always sharp and on the ball.”
Roy Devenish, former senior assistant editor at Pretoria News, said he and Topping went back to the 1970s.
He was the adopted son of Father Topping, of Christ Church in Arcadia, and joined the Pretoria News after getting a BA Journalism from Rhodes University.
“As a sub-editor John learnt his craft from the legendary Tom Roy, and rose to chief sub-editor, one of the last to operate under the old hot metal printing days and before the introduction of electronic editing and printing.
“John had an amazing skill in being able to judge the number – and length – of stories required to fill a page.
“But ‘Johnnytopping’ was far more than a workaholic. His passion for cars saw him buy a succession of Alfas; followed quite often by deep mutterings about ‘Italian rubbish’ and swearing never to buy another … and six months later, arriving in a new Alfa…
“He was a keen sport follower, especially of cricket, and a more than fair trout angler. In fact, a trout angling trip to Dullstroom bloomed into romance with Kate Dyall, and the pair were married some months later.
“John also loved good food. He was a complicated, but loyal friend, whose love life often did not turn out as he intended, but in recent years seemed to have found his soulmate in his partner Ceinwin Mitchell.
Another ex-colleague, Joubert Malherbe, said: “I knew John for many years. He was widely liked and people could relate to his love of cars, of the Italian variety, mainly. We worked together as copy subs and covered the night shift for around 20 years.
“He was a great one to offer advice and assist greenhorn subs and reporters and I’m sure his legacy will endure.
“Although he eschewed alcohol in his later years, he was once a member of the much-loved Thursday evening wine club (post-deadline, of course!) which was fun and a great way to unwind.
“So long John; you’ve completed the race.
Pretoria News