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FISH HOEK
At 106, she’s seen it all RACINE EDWARDES @RaeEdwardes
D
ominica Soglanich celebrated her 106th birthday on Wednesday 27 November, and as one of the longest living members of her community, she’s a role model to those who know her. The Fish Hoek resident was born in Pretoria, Gauteng, and according to her son, Chris, she has been someone to look up to despite her tough beginnings. According to Chris, his grandmother died when his mother was just three years old. “And she still remembers the clothes her mother had on, because she was bouncing my mother on her lap, and later went to the hospital and never came back. She (Dominica), at the age of five, was sent away to a boarding school – she was a little girl on her own,” he says. He adds: “For someone who had such a tough start – she lived through two world wars, all of the major world events, the first air plane, the first computer, the first man on the moon, the first jet. She never had a mother as a role model but she turned out to be a role model to those she met.”
Chris says she is still observant and still inquisitive in her old age. “She wants to know how her family overseas are doing, what’s flowering in the garden, etcetera.” She also never forgets a birthday and is still very good with numbers, according to her son. Without Dominica’s strong will and beliefs, Chris says he may not have been around to see her 106th birthday last month. “She saved my life when I was six. I was on my death bed for a year – I had a kidney disease. She used to catch a bus to town to see me in Pretoria, and she just prayed and prayed. And then a miracle occurred. The doctor, who was an atheist, said he didn’t know what was happening but I was suddenly okay and he said I could go home.” Thankful that she is still with him, he says: “She’s had a very full life and is an example to everyone. She has no resentment towards anyone and has never raised her voice. I’m very proud of her.” Pick n Pay at Longbeach Mall made her a personalised cake for her birthday and Raymond Ackerman, the former executive chair of the supermarket chain, always makes sure to wish her well on her big day.
An old school photo has become a popular anecdote in the family. Dominica Soglanich and her friends showed their rebellious sides, placing the word “prison” under the name of their school, St Dominics Academy in Newcastle, Kwa-Zulu Natal. The photo was published in the school’s 100 year celebration book.
The 106-year-old Fish Hoek resident, Dominica Soglanich.
R 889.--
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