A retired high school language teacher with a wide interest in natural history particularly mineralogy and entomology, the latter having as its focus tortoise beetles and butterflies. A childhood interest in these beetles grew to become an adult passion and serious work began in 1986 that, thanks to the kindness and generosity of many researchers (notably ‘Beth Grobbelaar at the ARC, Plant Protection Research Institute, in Pretoria and Lech Borowiec, world Cassidine authority, at Wrocław University, Poland) permitted access to the international community and enabled the publication of several peer-reviewed papers on the biology and host plants of South African species. In recognition of the work done, two new tortoise beetle species were named Aspidimorpha heroni in 1997 (from Kenya) and Cassida heroni in 2022 (from Natal).