A Tribute to Elizabeth Lekay 1936-2007

- Mary Anne Botha and Christine Thomas -

On the day of going to print we learned that the people of Prince Albert had suffered a huge loss with the unexpected death of Elizabeth 'Baba' Lekay on Saturday, the 24th of November 2007.

Baba lived her busy life to the full. The year before last she celebrated her 70th birthday in style with her many friends from across Prince Albert and we will remember her imposing presence, both as a singer and as quietly spoken woman with her own voice, free from class and race bias.

Baba lived to serve. As a mother of a large family, she served her husband, Hekkie, her children and many grandchildren. She also served her church, and her faith sustained her enthusiastic commitment to her wide extended family – her choir practice, her role coordinating the 'golden games', her participation in cancer support.

She shone as an icon of reconciliation in a town often divided by its history, willing to be a bridge between its often separate communities, to sit in on council meetings, to further the land restitution process, to work for the library and the museum.

Baba was a Prince Albert treasury of knowledge, recounting memories both joyful and bitter - in her characteristically mild manner. She was a gifted storyteller, and her stories of life in a Karoo village in the voortyd will live on. As a mother, as colleague and as our beloved friend we salute you.

Elizabeth se man en kinders wil almal bedank vir die omgee en vriendskap. Haar lewe sou leeg gewees het sonder U.