Northfield family says goodbye to Lorna Alice Schrieber

Schrieber was born in Sea Point, Cape Town, on October 22, 1931. She was the only child of Alice and Ralph Schrieber.

When she was seven years old, her father was transferred to Johannesburg and she attended the Johannesburg Preparatory and High School for Girls (Barnato Park) from Standard One (Grade Three) through to matric.

Her family joined the Central Methodist Church and were involved in that church for the next 50 years.

“Lorna loved her church and soon became involved in visiting the sick, the elderly and those in need; she loved this work,” said the Northfield Methodist Church.

Schrieber felt deeply that her life’s work lay in serving people.

She turned to a decision to train as a nurse and so serve the sick.

Schrieber began her nursing career at the Johannesburg Hospital and knew she had found her calling in life when she was awarded the Johannesburg Hospital Gold medal for her years of training.

She followed with a year’s course in midwifery. Being fond of children, Schrieber chose to follow a one-year diploma in paediatrics and worked in this field for seven years.

It was at this time too that she studied theology by correspondence.

Having shown her flair for teaching student nurses, a matron advised Schrieber to enter a twoyear diploma in nursing at Wits University Medical School and so she became a tutor at the B G Alexander College of Nursing.

She loved this work and excelled in teaching.

By the latter half of the 1960s, much more advanced and technical medical care was being practised.

The need to teach nursing staff in this field became imperative and Schrieber was asked to do a one-year study course to prepare herself to teach in this advanced nursing field.

This she did, and thereafter wrote a text-book on “Advance Nursing”, which was used throughout the country.

During these years she also acquired a diploma in administration from Wits University and a degree in social science from the University of South Africa.

Schrieber was then asked to supervise nursing education for the whole of the Johannesburg General Hospital and was appointed chief matron of education.

Several years later, when the chief administrative matron of the hospital retired, Schrieber was appointed to this position.

When she retired, she was awarded a prize for outstanding service to the hospital.

At this point Schrieber came to live in her house in Benoni and offered her services to the Northfield Methodist Church.

She visited the sick and the elderly and took holy communion to them; taught in the Children’s Church and in the Northfield Literacy Programme; joined the Women’s Auxiliary; and conducted many worship services in the retirement complexes and homes for the aged in Benoni.

After some time she was allowed to conduct funeral services, and has done some 450 of these.

Schrieber was honoured with a Rotary “Paul Harris Award” for her service to the community.

She never married.

Her funeral service is to be held on January 26, at 10am, at the Northfield Methodist Church.