Beloved Curro Nelspruit teacher’s memory honoured

Curro Nelspruit held a touching remembrance ceremony for the beloved and well-known teacher, Kim Cook, on Friday January 27.

Held on the school grounds, colleagues, family and former pupils of Kim gathered around with flowers to honour her memory.

Laughter, special anecdotes as well as tears were shared among those who knew her and remember her fondly.

Kim was born on January 22, 1963. She died following a battle with cancer a few days shy of her 61st birthday on January 19.

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Curro Nelspruit educator and friend Kathy Holton said Kim was always the first to arrive at school and the last to leave, and is fondly remembered by staff and students (past and present) of three Lowveld schools.

“After many years of teaching, lecturing and being an acting principal, both in South Africa and eSwatini, Kim joined Lowveld High School in 2002 as an English home language teacher and acting head of department (HoD).

“She joined Penryn College in 2007, again as English home language teacher.

“She was soon appointed HoD of English, until she chose to step down while recovering from breast cancer,” said Holton.

“Curro Nelspruit was Kim’s final Lowveld school. Once more she was HoD and English home language teacher. She felt the need to take things a little easier and stepped down from the HoD post in 2020. This was the year the cancer returned, and she moved to Durban with her daughter and two grandsons in December 2020.

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“At school, she would buy birdseed and sprinkle it for the birds. She was simply the kindest, most loving and selfless being. She always put herself on the back burner,” Holton said.

Kim leaves behind her daughter Aislinn, grandsons Nathan and Aodhan, her son Beila and daughter-in-law Nadia, their young son, Gabriel, and her brother, Gilbert Cottrell.

Holton said there are also multiple people who were touched by her love and are mourning her loss.

“We take comfort knowing she is healed and home, welcomed as the good and faithful servant spoken of in Matthew’s gospel,” she said.

Mike Bownes, CEO of Curro Nelspruit, and Nico Bronkhorst, high school head of Curro Nelspruit, said a few words in celebration of Kim, and the spiritual aspect of the ceremony was conducted by a friend and ex-colleague, Franklin Darteh.

Curro alumni Connor McFayden and Jessica Priest also shared their stories.

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Jessica and her sister Chloe said they had started a campaign to raise funds for a bench to be erected at the school in Kim’s honour.

She said the extra R4 000 raised will be donated to CANSA.

Beila and Nadia attended the ceremony along with many people dressed brightly and barefoot in Kim’s memory.