Ronni Allen, a well known business woman and golfer, died on October 5 at the age of 61 in her sleep.
Her daughter, Rachel, told the Addie about some of her mother’s accomplishments.
Her mom, Rhondamay Allen (nee Everzard) was born on November 16, 1952 in Springs and lived at the Marievale Mine until she was 16.
She then left Springs Girls’ High School to start as an apprentice hairdresser at André and Kevin’s Hair Salon in Third Avenue.
She became a qualified hairdresser in 1971 and opened her first salon during 1977, called The Den.
It was three shops down from her mentors’ hair salon.
In about 1985 Ronni opened the Avenues Hair Studio in the Avenues Shopping Centre and in 1995 she moved the salon, she called Ronni’s Place, to her house at 10 Coaton Avenue, Selcourt.
Rachel says Ronni, from the age of 16, lived at the Springs Youth Centre and later stayed with her friends Ian and Sandy Iggeldon.
In 1975 she married Trevor Allen.
Their first-born was Trent and Rachel was born in 1976.
The family lived in their Coaton Avenue house from October 1976 until Rachel sold it in 2008.
In 1984 Ronni and Trevor got divorced.
Rachel says Ronni has achieved several trophies and awards in hairdressing throughout her career.
From 1984 to 1988 Ronni represented South Africa in the World Hairdressing Championships in Italy each year where she once individually came 12th out of more than 700 competitors and the South African team once came 24th as a team.
Rachel says Ronni’s salon used to stay open until late in the evenings and she did all the hair for the Springs girls participating in local and other modelling shows and was usually fully booked for matric dances, formal balls and functions.
Ronni was very creative and always had an original style for each person.
According to Rachel, her mom had many young talented hairdressers learn from, and work with her, some of whom have become successful business owners and hairdressers in Springs and surrounding areas.
In 1990 Ronni started to play golf at the Springs Country Club, where she was the women’s captain from 1996 to 2004, and served on the club’s board of directors.
She will be remembered for organising a monthly bus trip for women to different golf courses where she had up to 24 women joining her.
Ronni was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1997.
Rachel says: “Ronni was always strong-headed and used her ‘power of the mind’ to put up a good fight against a very cruel disease, but in 2006 it got the better of her where she had to put down her scissors.”
Because of the illness, Ronni moved in with Rachel during January 2008 and in September 2012, when the family could no longer look after her due to her deteriorating physical and mental condition, she moved to Bethany Home in Brakpan, which is part of the Alan Woodrow Group.
There Ronni had her own room in the frail care, where friends and family visited her and kept her spirits up, until her passing.
She leaves behind Rachel and her daughter-in-law Karen Howard who resides in Springs after Ronni’s son, Trent Allen, was killed in December 2008.
She had three grandsons – Keaghan, Haydn and Cole.
She also leaves her sister Eileen and brother-in-law Jan Smant, her brother Peter and Mandy Everzard and her father Eric Everzard.
Ronni was a member of the Trinity Methodist Church in Lodeyko where her memorial service was held on Monday with friends and family from all around the world who came to pay their respects.
She was already cremated on October 15 at Doves and Kloppers in Springs.
Her wake was at Springs Country Club after Monday’s memorial service.
