Celebrating the life of Kenilworth’s beloved Granny Agnes

On Youth Day, while many were marking the public holiday, Mercia Bezuidenhoudt said goodbye to her mother, Agnes Bezuidenhoudt, who died of natural causes at the age of 103.

Agnes, known to many in Kenilworth as “Ma Agnes” or “Granny Agnes,” died on Monday June 16. Her daughter, who is also a retired school teacher, confirmed the news, saying she had cared for her mother over the past year as her health had declined.

“My family knew she was energetic, though they had seen her coming in and out of the hospital and seen her decline, and they would feel heartsore,” she said.

Ms Bezuidenhoudt said her mother’s memorial will take place at Good Shepherd Church in Grassy Park next Thursday June 26 and the funeral service will take place at the same church on  Saturday June 28.

Ms Bezuidenhoudt said all her relatives had the best of times with her mother. “My mother loved them all and she would pray for two hours in the morning and two hours at night, because each child of hers was prayed for individually,” she said.

Agnes was born in Kimberley, the youngest of seven siblings, who have all since died. She married William Bezuidenhoudt, who died 26 years ago at the age of 80.

She has a large family which includes three sons, Arnold 82, Gerald 81 (deceased ), Beresford 78, Glenda 74 and Mercia, 69 as well as 15 grandchildren, 31 great grandchildren and five great great grandchildren.

Her son Gerald Bezuidenhoudt died in March this year and then shortly after, her son’s wife and her daughter-in-law Nella died.

Ms Bezuidenhoudt said she is feeling strong and is glad that her mother’s pain and suffering is over. “That was really hard, though we are going to celebrate her, because she was a celebration of life,” she said.

Even after the age of 100, Agnes enjoyed going out with daughter Mercia, who described their close relationship as being “partners in crime".” “Everybody loved her,” she said.

Agnes always lived by five principles which helped her in living her long life. “I lived one day at a time, I thanked the Lord above every day, I lived my life to the fullest, I lived healthy and I lived happy,” she previously told the Tatler.(“Agnes still dancing at 100 years young,” Southern Suburbs Tatler, September 23, 2021)

“My mother is now in a happy place where she is reunited with my father and her son,” said Ms Bezuidenhoudt.

The final details around the memorial and funeral will be made available closer to the time.