Demi-Leigh Tebow mourns the loss of her "sweet dad"
The former Miss South Africa has remembered her father as a man with the biggest heart and the funniest pranks.
Demi-Leigh Tebow has announced the passing of her father, Bennie Peters.
The beauty queen shared a heartfelt message about his death in a post shared on Monday, October 20.
"It’s with a heavy yet deeply grateful heart that I share my sweet dad went to be with Jesus last Thursday," she wrote.
The post included a collage of pictures and videos of her dad over the years.
It includes snaps of the father and daughter at her graduation, dancing at her wedding and sharing precious moments with her first child with husband Tim Tebow. Her stepmother, Elzabè, also featured in the sweet memories.
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"Liewe Pappa, ’n Dag waarna elke gelowige uitsien, beleef Pappa vandag — volmaak, aan die voete van Jesus," she added in Afrikaans.
Demi-Leigh, who won the Miss South Africa and Miss Universe pageants in 2017, says her did not lose his humour despite battling cancer.
"Two years ago, we got the call that changed everything — Pappa was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The last two years have been incredibly tough, yet through it all, he never lost his humour, kindness, compassion, or his deep love for Jesus and for our family."
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Demi-Leigh thanked her father for his "endless love and care". She also revealed that he father was a big prankster, and once convinced her classmate that dried wood glue was custard.
"You weren’t always the biggest handyman, but you always made a plan. Now I’ll have to make my own. Your best gifts to me were never things — they were memories."
The author of 'A Crown That Lasts' shared how her father comforted her when they lost her younger sister, Franje, who suffered from cerebellar agenesis.
"You once told me, after we lost Franje, that we can spend our lives questioning God or trusting Him. Thank you for choosing trust — and for showing me what real faith looks like.
"The angels are in for a treat, because the man with the best dad jokes, the biggest heart, and the funniest pranks has arrived."
He will always be remembered as a loving and protective father.
Ek is so oneindig lief vir Pappa, en ek sal nooit genoeg kan sê dankie vir die liefdevolle, beskermende en lojale pappa wat ek die voorreg gehad het om myne te noem nie. Pappa was ’n wonderlike pa. Ek dra Pappa se liefde, lag en geloof altyd saam met my. Tot ons weer sien."
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Demi-Leigh shared a close bond with her father and stepfather, Johan Steenkamp, who is married to her mother, Anne-Marie Steenkamp.
She has always talked about how grateful she is to have "two incredible, strong men" in her life.
"Both my dad and my stepfather are extremely hardworking. They have truly earned anything that has ever come their way. The one thing that I learnt from them is that you will get nothing by sitting back and waiting for a miracle to happen," she told Stokvel Talk in a 2017 interview.
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