Glenwood resident and intrepid traveller celebrates her 100th birthday
In 1943, Rona Wills began working at the University of Natal as it was then known, a job that would afford her three months' leave to travel abroad.
GLENWOOD resident Rona Wills celebrated her 100th birthday on April 14 with members of her community at Overport Congregational Church where Wills has been a member since she was a girl.
Wills was born in 1923 to Morris and Georgia Wills at her family home on Berg Street in Pietermaritzburg. She was the second eldest of her four siblings, Errol, Trevor, Fay and Mervyn.
Rev Heather Thompson of Overport Congregational Church shared a few words at the birthday celebration, saying that Wills lost her father at age eight when her family relocated to Overport.
“Wills and her family joined Overport Congregational Church which was a wood and iron building in those days,” said Thompson.
Wills left school at the age of 17 and was offered a job at the beginning of 1943 at the present-day University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) – University of Natal as it was known then. Wills was a typist working for academic staff and later was responsible for student registration, examination statistics and graduations, retiring at the age of 61.
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Looking back over the years, Wills recalls several overseas trips, starting with a trip to the United Kingdom which she took in 1953 at the age of 30.
“I was in London at the time of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation and sat in the South African stand. My second trip abroad was to the UK and on to Canada and the USA. My third trip abroad was to Europe, and my last trip was to Taiwan and Hong Kong. I also travelled in Africa extensively,” said Wills.
Thompson explained that Wills was given three months long leave after working at the university for a five-year period, and she was awarded long leave on three occasions during which she travelled the globe.
Wills was never married and does not have any children or grandchildren. A keen knitter, Wills and her sister, Fay, often donated knitted garments for various orphanages.
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“Rona and Fay knitted all year round – caps, socks, jerseys and dresses and blankets for Sherwood Orphanage. Rona has been an example to us all in the courage she has shown and her trust in God. How happy we are that God has blessed her to see her 100th birthday,” said Thompson.
When asked what her secret to a long life is, Wills said, “Hard work and always giving my best.”
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