Remembering Lorraine for her fighting spirit
ANYONE who knew Lorraine Black can attest to the fact that she boldly faced every challenge that she encountered with her whole heart and soul.
Lorraine Black
January 16, 1951 – February 24, 2017
ANYONE who knew Lorraine Black can attest to the fact that she boldly faced every challenge that she encountered with her whole heart and soul.
Lorraine’s phenomenal courage was an inspiration to many who had the privilege to know her, whether through her many years of loyal service at the bank, where she was well-known for her willingness to go the extra mile whenever necessary, her unwavering kindness and passion for helping others in everyday life, or her fighting spirit when it came to her battle with cancer, the dreaded disease that would eventually take her life.
No stranger to the illness, Lorraine Black beat cancer once before. In 1998, she underwent treatment, a mastectomy and chemotherapy, after a self-examination revealed lumps in her breast.
Last year, in September, Lorraine blacked out and fell, injuring her back. It was this incident that would reveal that the cancer had returned. Unwilling to let this get her down, Lorraine prepared herself for the battle that lay ahead, with the steely determination and courage she was so well-known for. She had beaten this before and she was determined to do so again.
Despite undergoing treatment, Lorraine’s condition continued to deteriorate. She wasn’t getting better and her distraught family rallied together to seek further medical advice. Lorraine was taken to a hospital in Johannesburg, where it was discovered that the battle she was so bravely fighting was no longer with the known enemy she had beaten before, but with a far more aggressive type of cancer that was rapidly taking its toll on her, pancreatic cancer.
Lorraine’s husband of fifty years, Bill Black, and their three children, Tara, who travelled from New Zealand to be at her mother’s side, Laura and William, remained with Lorraine during the time that she was in hospital, hopeful for a miracle as Lorraine slipped in and out of consciousness.
She fought to the very end, refusing to give up and fighting through the pain. However, at 8:02pm on Friday night, surrounded by her family, Lorraine Black lost her battle with cancer.
Bill Black recalls his wife’s final moments with sadness and maintains, “No one deserves to have suffered that much… She’s at peace now…”
Her final wishes were to be cremated and for her ashes to be scattered at Salt Rock, a place that epitomised Lorraine’s love for the ocean.
A memorial service will be held for Lorraine Black on March 8 at 11am at the Assembly of God Church in Nyala Drive and, as per Lorraine’s wishes, the family requests that, instead of flowers, donations be made towards CANSA.
Lorraine Black is survived by her husband, Bill, their three children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
