Former US archivist Hans Heese passed away on 18 March 2024. He was 79 years old.

Hans Heese was the first, in the 1970s, to begin transcribing the opgaafrolle. In the late 2000s, he introduced Johan Fourie and Dieter von Fintel to these records at his office in Stellenbosch, a meeting that ultimately culminated in the Cape of Good Hope Panel project. Hans would in retirement become an active transcriber on the Cape Panel project, taking responsibility for the early years of the Cape district.