Nicholas Johannes Mulder, age 73, of Springfield, passed away Thursday, October 29, 2026. Mr. Mulder’s wishes were to be cremated and there are no services scheduled at this time.
Mr. Mulder was born September 7, 1953, in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa, to the late Hendrick Johannes Lingervelder Mulder and Johanna Elizabeth Theron Mulder. Nicholas attended a small catholic boarding school where he got involved in athletics. In his later years he loved cross-country and road running, but his primary interests were mountaineering and cycling. Nicholas’s other interests included stamp collecting, rock collecting, archery and photography. In high school he competed in a bilingual inter school debating competition and won the prize for being the best bilingual public speaker/debater in the Western Cape. After he graduated high school in December 1971, on January 2, 1972, he left home in Cape Town and moved about 590 miles away to work for De Beers Consolidated Mines in Kimberly, South Africa where he was a geological field assistant. However, in South Africa, all white males were required to complete 12 months compulsory national service in the military, so on September 3, 1972, he boarded a train for 8 weeks of basic training. After completing his national service in August 1973, he returned to work and in 1978 started his studies at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Nicholas received an associate degree in manufacturing. Several years later he decided to continue his studies and received his bachelor’s degree in general management. Mr. Mulder held several positions in his career, including Trainee Industrial Engineer, Industrial Engineer, Continuous Improvement Specialist, Adult Education Practitioner, Technical Writer, Sales Supervisor, Retail Specialist and most recently Quality Control in the automotive manufacturing industry.
He is survived by his daughters, Andrea (Lou) Van Kirk and Lauren (Jeffrey) Mulder; 4 grandchildren, Jake, Lily, Cassidy and Sabrina; and a sister, Marianne (Harry) Giliomee.
Austin & Bell Funeral Home in Springfield is in charge of these arrangements.
