The two-year-old son of De Wet Barry and his wife, Marcelle, has died in hospital from a lung-related illness.
|||The two-year-old son of former Springbok and Stormers player De Wet Barry and his wife, Marcelle, has died in hospital from a lung-related illness.
Messages of support poured in on Twitter yesterday after the news.
Bryan Habana tweeted: “My thoughts and prayers are with De Wet Barry and his family during this sad tragic time!”
Another Tweet from former teammate Marius Joubert read: “Such sad news. DJ Barry passed away. We pray for support to the whole family. RIP little Barry.”
An earlier Tweet from Joubert said DJ was “fighting for his life with lung infection” and “one of the lungs already gave in”.
Barry, currently a member of the EP (Eastern Province) Kings squad in Port Elizabeth, played 38 test matches as a centre for the Springboks and become captain of the Stormers in 2006.
EP Kings coach Alan Solomons said he had received the news just after 9am on Tuesday that the toddler had died at St George’s Hospital in Port Elizabeth.
He said Barry, 33, had missed practice last week while he stayed at his son’s bedside.
“I know there was a problem with his lungs, but I don’t recall that he had been suffering with any illness before then,” said Solomons.
The coach said he had been in touch with Barry throughout the ordeal and although it was a “very upsetting time” for the parents, they had remained positive.
“As soon as we heard the news, the team gathered to say a prayer for them and we cancelled the day’s practice. Everybody is extremely distressed… that this has happened.
“We have a culture of being a family and the Barrys were part and parcel of that family. Our prayers and our support are with them,” he said.
The Barrys could not be reached for comment. - Cape Argus
janis.kinnear@inl.co.za