Happy 100th birthday
The first party, a family affair, Lily was lavished with love, sharing a special time with her daughters, Marlene (80), Aileen (78), Joy (72), Norma (70) and other family members.
BIRTHDAYS are always special, but if you are privileged enough to reach the ripe old age of 100, well that is certainly good innings.
Lily Hart, who now resides at Queenshaven, enjoyed two birthday parties, one on Monday July 11 at Olive Tree Coffee shop, Thaba Eco Hotel and another on July 12 at the home.
At the first, a family affair, Lily was lavished with love, sharing a special time with her daughters, Marlene (80), Aileen (78), Joy (72), Norma (70) and other family members.
As bright as a button she spoke about her life, and when Kim le Roux (restaurant reservation, Thaba Eco Hotel) presented her with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, courtesy of Thaba, Lily smiled and said, “Thank you my dear, aren’t I lucky!”
Born in 1916, while the First World War was being fought, Elizabeth Ida Lousie Rohrs was born to German parents. They lived in Dalton, Natal and with very little education she is fluent in German, English, Afrikaans and Zulu.
In 1916, General Louis Botha was prime minister of the Union of South Africa and George V was monarch of the British Commonwealth. If you were privileged enough you would have enjoyed listening to the wireless, when popular music was Duke Ellington, Al Johnson and George Gershwin. Children would have played with Tinker toys, teddy bears and pedal cars (model T Ford) and an average family annual income was 240 to 360 Pounds. Petrol would have set you back five cents a gallon, a loaf of bread cost seven cents, a dozen eggs 34 cents and a quart of milk nine cents.
Lily later married Norman Harry Hart and they had one son, who sadly passed away, and four daughters. Harry died in 1981 and Lily moved to Gauteng to be closer to her daughters.
Lily also has 12 loving grandchildren, 18 beautiful great-grandchildren and one precious great-great-grandchild.
She moved into Queenshaven about 10 years ago, and on Tuesday morning a birthday party was held for Lily where she was surrounded by all her friends and some of her family. Opened in prayer, the celebration was enjoyed by all. A beautiful cake was made by Chantal Victor, as well as eats for the party and gorgeous flowers donated by Sonja Pretorius, both friends of Queenshaven.
Lily insisted on standing up and thanking each and every one for their love and care and for spoiling her on her special day. One of the highlights of her birthday was a card received from Queen Elizabeth of England.
“It is indeed a momentous occasion today as we give thanks for Lily. She is a friend to everyone at Queenshaven and is never without a smile,” said Johan Pretorius, manager at the home.
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