Jan Abraham Coetsee, 71, of Mooresville, N.C., passed away at 4:50 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at his residence.

He was born on April 6, 1952, in South Africa to the late Daan and Hester Coetsee. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Danie Coetsee.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia le Cordeur Coetsee; sons, Riaan Coetsee and fiancée Allison Whitaker, and Shaun Tannehill-Coetsee and wife Anissa Tannehill-Coetsee; sisters, Ina Lindenberg, Adri Hunt, Estee Coetsee, and Maryna Esterhuizen; brothers, Koos and Jas Coetsee; and numerous nieces and nephews and five aunts.

Jan Coetsee was a retired senior system engineer. He started his career with IBM as an on-call Systems Engineer, fixing punch card machines. He built his own computer from spare parts, the prelude to his career as a computer programmer. He immigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1990 with the help of Malcolm Marais and later joined with him. Together, they developed software for companies worldwide that is still used to date.

Jan loved spending time outdoors, whether he was working in the garden, on his annual trip to the Great Smoky Mountains or at resorts along the coast with his family, or camping with his sons. He loved nature and was fascinated by the beautiful animals in it. He also enjoyed tinkering in his workshop, working on his never-ending wood and metal projects. He was fond of teaching his sons how to be good engineers and handymen; how to love and care for a family; and how to be good, empathetic people. His generosity was never ending, especially when it came to treats for the dogs. He was always encouraging and loved to learn, even going as far as taking college classes with his sons to provide competition.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, March 20, from 10 to 11 a.m. with a service following at 11 a.m. at the chapel of Cavin-Cook Funeral Home with Mr. Leonard Paul Stadler officiating.

In lieu of flowers, donations of sympathy may be made to Trellis Supportive Care (Attn: Finance), 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.

Cavin-Cook Funeral Home & Crematory, Mooresville, is serving the Coetsee family. Condolences may be made to the family at www.cavin-cook.com.