ONE of the town’s great pioneers, Connie Matherson died at the age of 90 at her home in St Winifreds on Sunday evening, 28 September.
Connie first arrived in Illovo in 1945 where her husband, Jack took up a position at the Illovo Sugar Mill.
She started working in the post office at Illovo when it was just an agency until the government took over and she became postmistress and spent about 30 years in their service.
It was in the post office she met her long-standing friend Gertie Roux, who was postmistress of Illovo Beach Post Office.
It was at Illovo that she was affectionately known as ‘Aunty Connie’. She was an aunty to all, teaching many children in the community how to bake cakes, arrange flowers, to garden, sew and knit. She was renowned for her wedding cakes.
She kept her promise to local resident, Carol Lane by saying “your wedding cake will be the last I make” and she did, at the age of 77. “She taught us children at the Mill so much, I used to ride my horse about 5km to visit her and ride right into the post office, where we would share a Coke in the early 1970s. And a Coke at that time cost four cents a bottle. Just about all the Mill children grew up playing with the stamp and black ink pad in the post office which was the centre of the small community. Aunty Connie also taught us all about stamp collecting and gave us First Day Covers,” said Carol.
She was very active in community services and the church. For years she would bake a cake every week and deliver it to Durban for Pastor Honey at the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Currie Road. In tow and always at her side was Bernice Francis who did the flower arranging, the beautiful flowers picked from her splendid garden in Illovo.
“Aunty Connie would drive around the country for the sake of her children and she also never turned anyone away from her home. One night when I slept over, we were all woken up when family arrived unexpectedly and the children slept top to tail. There were something like 27 people for breakfast the next morning,” said Bernice.
The centre of her life always revolved around her family and she adored all the little grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A true lady, a pioneer, legend, friend and loving family member, she will sorely be missed by all.
She is survived by two daughters, Heather and Meryl, and her ‘other daughter’ and friend of 47 years, Bernece Francis, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Her third daughter, Jenny, sadly died 10 years ago and her beloved husband, Jack, 16 years ago.
