In the family way

As a South African living here Jenny Leroux has entertained two hopes: that one day she would rediscover the family she had lost half a century ago and that she could resume her favourite role as a regular jazz drummer. She told her story to Cressida van Zyl-Pithey

“I was born Juliana van Tonders in what’s now Zambia, fifty-five years ago but I remember absolutely nothing about the place and the people. For reasons I’ve never really understood when I was just eighteen months old I was given for adoption to a South African couple who lived in Germiston. My new dad was an Afrikaner – Leroux is a common name in the community, going back to the Huguenots – and his wife was pure French. They were good people in many ways and I have to thank them for giving me a good education, old-fashioned Catholic style with the nuns. They also sent me off to music lessons from the age of eight and that was something important for my future.

“This nagging desire”

When I was eleven we moved to Durban which is still my favourite city in S.A. I was sent to another lot of nuns and I went on with my music although as I grew older my tastes got more varied. I don’t think my adoptive parents were too keen when I began to show much more interest in dance music and jazz than in the classics. But that was where my talents lay, it was obvious. Anyway, I decided I was good enough to sing and play in public. I began part-time while doing secretarial work and then it became my real job. I met up with an Italian guy, also a musician, and we got married. We worked as a couple and with other people – by that time I was mainly on the drums – and we toured all over South Africa. I loved it.

A turning-point in my life came in 1985 when we emigrated to France. Somehow we convinced ourselves that was a good idea. It wasn’t. Our marriage broke up and I found that opportunities to perform were much rarer. I was soon back to being a part-time musician – very part-time – while doing other jobs. For some time now I’ve been working at the airport. I was also busy bringing up three children. During all those years, you know, first in South Africa, then here, I had this nagging desire to find out my real family and hopefully get in touch with them. At first I got nowhere but then enlisted the help of Margie Muller, a family researcher based in Cape Town. To cut to the happy ending, Margie sent a letter to the local paper in Alberton in Gauteng. Someone who saw it made a connection and called up my sister Poppie. Result: I was soon in touch with the van Tonders and earlier this year I went to Alberton for a reunion.”

“I knew I had come home”

It was like a miracle for me. Immediately I felt a bond with my sister and brothers when we contacted each other by e-mail and when I met them I knew I had come home. They seemed to feel the same about me. There are, though, still two things that nag at me. This is a great place to live but I’ve always missed South Africa terribly and I’ve often wondered about going back there to live. Now I’ve got family, I’m even more tempted. The other thing’s the music. Actually, I’m rather a good drummer and I’d love to get together with some other musicians and get those sticks a-twirling again. Anyone interested?”

Jenny Leroux can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

From Riviera Reporter issue 116, July/August 2006

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