Barberton centenarian passes away
Barberton resident Margaret Sebastian would have turned 103 years old in May this year.
The community was greatly saddened by the news of the well-known 102-year-old Margaret Sebastian’s passing on Saturday January 28.
Lowvelder had written an article on Margaret following her 102nd birthday last year. At this grand old age, she had been blessed with 21 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She would have celebrated her 103rd birthday on May 11.
From Margaret’s grandparent’s departure out of the British Raj in India, to escaping the hardships of indentured labour in KwaZulu-Natal, only to face internment in a British camp in Lydenburg where she was born in 1920, her story was an interesting one.
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She was the eldest of five children, followed by her sister Minnie, her brother Richard, another sister, Violet, and the youngest brother, Sunny.
She had recalled living in a Malay camp, sleeping on a stretcher bed in a very large tent. After living in the camp for a while, the family moved from Lydenburg to Sabie, where they lived in a house built on stilts. It was at this home that Margaret and her siblings were able to sleep in proper wooden beds for the first time in their lives.
Margaret had described her childhood as sweet and carefree. She moved to Barberton in 1941 when she married her husband, Robert.
Robert became acquainted with Margaret during a soccer match at the Barberton football grounds, in which he was a goalkeeper.
She described this as being the best moment of her life.
They married in the Barberton Anglican Church almost 82 years ago on August 27, 1941. The couple had 10 children together, however, only five are still alive. Robert died in 1981 after 40 years of marriage.
Margaret had travelled to the UK, Zambia, the Netherlands and the USA during her lifetime, and even had a haircut at a New York hair salon, cutting her signature long hair, which was always worn as a long plait down her back, to a short and stylish do.
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She had worked in the laundry business, assisting her parents, and did catering for Henry Nettman when he was the mayor of Barberton, making 100 samoosas a week every Friday.
Margaret’s family shared with Lowvelder that she had the most incredible sense of humour. A funny anecdote they remembered was when her doctor of many years had told her he wished he had her genes, to which she retorted that her jeans would not fit him.
Margaret will be remembered fondly and with much love by all who knew her.
The memorial service will be held on Saturday February 4 at 10:00. Follow this link to watch it live: https://lowveldlive.co.za/live/funeral-service/
