Teacher dies in front of class a day before her birthday
The learners said she just suddenly stopped teaching and said she didn't feel well and then she collapsed
A high school maths teacher died in front of her class after suffering a heart attack a day before her 53th birthday.
Ebeth de Coning was teaching at Hoërskool Birchleigh when she had the heart attack just before 2pm last week Thursday. She would have celebrated her birthday on August 1.
A close family member said learners who were in the classroom at the time said she was writing something on the board when she suddenly stopped and complained she was not feeling well.
“She told her class she needed a second, then a moment later said she was not feeling well. She collapsed on the spot,” she said.
With not a single health problem her whole life, her death came as a great shock to her family and friends, especially her husband, Fanie.
The couple married in 1986 and moved to Allen Grove from the Western Cape.
“She was a fit and healthy person, very hard working and dedicated to her job. Maths was her life,” her husband said.
Ebeth had been in the teaching profession for 30 years and taught at Laerskool De Aar in Kimberley before joining Hoërskool Birchleigh in 1987 as the grade 8-12 maths teacher.
“She was a kind and caring teacher who kept in touch with her former students. Her pupils at Birchleigh referred to her as ‘The Queen of Maths’, which they affectionately displayed on the school grounds on Friday,” her sister-in-law said.
According to the headmaster, André Gloy, the school held a special prayer service for Ebeth on the day of her birthday. Community pastors joined the school and united in prayer for Ebeth. The learners created a special display for her on the school grounds, with the words ‘The Queen of Maths’ engraved on the field.
Fanie and Ebeth had two children, Lisemarie (25) and Stephan (21).
A memorial service will be held at the school on Wednesday at 1pm and a funeral service was on Thursday at 2pm at NG Moedergemeente on the corner of Monument and Kempton roads, where she was involved as a Sunday school teacher.
