Westenburg’s residents say farewell to ‘Mother Teresa’
Ben Harris, one of the founders of Westenburg, said a sad farewell to his wife of 60 years after she passed away last Thurday.
POLOKWANE – “Lizzy, may your soul rest in peace my loving and supportive wife. I will really miss your companionship,” he said.
Aunt Elletjie, as she was affectionately known, was laid to rest on Saturday and more than 5 000 people attended the funeral to pay their last respects to the woman they refer to as the local Mother Teresa.
She is described as a strong and loving person who cared not only for her family but also for her employees and the community. “She really enjoyed cooking, I had no idea the lovely meal she prepared for us on her last night would be the last one we share,” Ben sid.
“Later that night, we rushed her to Redimed where she died peacefully on Thursday morning.”
Aunt Elletjie opened a canteen to provide food to her husband’s employees after she noticed they only drank cold drinks and ate snacks instead of wholesome meals. “She would often walk around the canteen checking that all the employees had something to eat,” Ben said. “When we moved from New Pietersburg to Westenburg, she kept the canteen going and later opened her own take-away shop at the Westenburg Café. She woke up at 04:00 everyday to tend to the shop until the day she died,” he explains.
“My mother was an amazing woman. She was patient, kind, loving and always took care of us.
“She had a forgiving heart and was the most humble person I ever met. My mother had a big heart and she loved being involved with charity work, especially helping orphans and the homeless,” Cecilia Harris, Aunt Elletjies’ daughter, told Review.
She added that her mother loved reading and at the age of 70, still made use of her library card.
“My mother read everything, from books to newspapers.
“She always wanted to be informed,” she continued.
Brenda Dube worked for Auntie Elletjie for seven years and remembers her as a hard worker with a kind demeanour.
“She only spoke words that would build a person up. We weren’t just employees to her, she treated us like family,” Dube said.
Elizabeth leaves behind her husband, four daughters, two sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
