Jacques Proot

Jacques Proot, 71, of Darlington, SC, passed away June 20th at the McLeod Hospital in Florence, SC.

He was born September 19th, 1948 in Namur, Belgium (Europe). He was a Metallurgical Engineer and spent his life discovering new countries and people. From Belgium (Europe), he went to Zaire (Africa), Benoni (South Africa), Timmins (Canada), Carcassonne (France), Montreal (Canada) and finally settling in Darlington in South Carolina since the year 2000.

Jacques was an avid reader – anything from poetry, the Roman Empire, European comic books, to Harry Potter was fair game. The lower level of the family home could easily be converted into a public library, to the dismay of his wife... He had a passion for science and mathematics. There was no task he couldn’t solve, often helping with his grandkids’ homework! Google and Alexa couldn’t compete with him. He also loved to cook and enjoyed baking different types of bread. He knew a great deal about beers, especially Belgian beers!

He was fascinated with astronomy and space exploration – he could identify all the stars so easily! He taught his daughters to appreciate how small we really are – standing in the yard in 1986 in South Africa watching Halley’s Comet orbit past the Earth and then continue to unknown parts of the universe.  No love of space is complete without the enthusiasm to watch every single Star Wars movies and Star Trek episode! He stood in line at the theatre to see the very first Star Wars movie in 1977! Right about now, he’s most likely having a wonderful chat with Leonard Nimoy and Johnny Cash!

These memories and more will be cherished by his wife of forty-six years, Josiane Vero. He is also survived by his two daughters, Cathy (Matt) and Caroline (Andy), as well as his grandchildren Daphne, Justin, Sophie, and Amelia. He is survived by his brothers (Louis, Daniel, Christian and Alain), his sister (Anne- Marie) and several nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents: Maurice and Alice.

A private ceremony will be held.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate School (5001, Hoffmeyer Road, Darlington, SC 29532) or follow this link:  https://trinitybyrnes.org/donate-online

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