‘Walk backwards into life’ – senior (97)
Brackenhurst senior, Petro Joubert, strongly advocates that people should look to the past to inform the future.
Three years from now, Brackenhurst senior Petro Joubert will be turning 100.
This is after celebrating her 97th birthday on October 26.
The optimistic senior has led a strong and inspirational life and has forever led by example. An adage which has forever kept her going and has carried her till old age is, ‘If you do something, do it to the fullest’.
Petro, who is a lover of nature, has lived to see life change as she knew it. Her advice to the younger generation is that their morals and values are very crucial for their individuality.
Being the oldest senior member at her Alberton North congregation, members of AGS (Apostoliese Geloofsending) gathered to celebrate her birthday on the day. Petro is a mother of one, and a grandmother to three grandchildren with four great-grandchildren.
Her lovable nature and positivity strongly attract those in the same space as hers. She is also best described as an enthusiastic, innovative and strong-minded person who has a wealth of history and is packed with fond memories.
Loving nature
Her only daughter, Renza Lourens (71), reiterated that her mother is a positive person who mostly spent her years living life and putting a smile on the lives of others.
“We’re all living to make a difference in the next person’s life and she has in every way possible changed the lives of others. She is an extraordinary person. She spends her days in the garden reading newspapers and she finds therapy in all the things that she does,” explained Renza.
Renza, who is a former school teacher, said her mother has lived in Brackenhurst for at least 15 years and has enjoyed her time in the area.
“Every year I give her a birthday party, and this year the congregation decided to celebrate the day with us. My mother is a creative person who’s so good with her hands, she’s a ‘rather do it yourself kind of person. It’s only since the beginning of the year that she started using a walker, before then she had been walking just fine,” she said.
Fondest memories
Earlier in the years, Petro spent her time mostly travelling and exploring her passions.
“About 60 years ago, she was in Europe for a year to travel and work. She came back with knowledge about the world. She later visited Israel.”
According to Renza, her mother played hockey, did judo and enjoyed flower arrangements. Before retiring she worked in the administrative sector.
She also played guitar, the piano and is said to have a beautiful singing voice.
