Beppie Summersgill: Community builder, loyal friend and dedicated bowls player

Beppie Summersgill, a former St Francis College teacher, multiple national and international lawn bowls champion and president of Visually Impaired Bowlers Ekurhuleni (VIBE) played a prominent role in community building and ensuring public spaces and amenities were accessible to people with disabilities.

“She was such a dedicated person,” is how her husband, Cedric, described her while her best friend, Gale Moffat, said, “She was a loyal and an amazing friend.”

Moffat and Beppie developed a deep and abiding sense of friendship while living in Airfield.

“She was the best friend you could ever ask for,” said an inconsolable Moffat. “She did so much for the community, her friends and family.”

Beppie died in June after a short battle with cancer. She was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in October, refusing chemotherapy because of lower chances of success, saying she wanted to live life to the fullest.

“She wasn’t going to be inhibited by the side effects of chemo,” said Cedric, who was also her guide.

“The oncologist agreed with her, saying there was a 12% chance of success.

“She decided she wasn’t going for chemo, and it was great because it kept her active until cancer got aggressive.”

Born in 1956 in Mutare, Zimbabwe, Beppie was married to Cedric for 43 years. The couple gave birth to two daughters.

She qualified as a teacher and taught at various schools in Zimbabwe while also owning a nursery school there.

The family moved to Benoni in 1989, settling in Airfield, where Beppie taught at St Francis College for 20 years. She was one of the college’s first teachers.

She was the HOD of the foundation phase at St Francis, lectured the Outcome Based Education (OBE) teachers in the district and achieved many other accolades.

She retired from teaching in 2009 when her eyesight deteriorated, a condition she developed as a seven-year-old. She served on the committee of Retina South Africa, also counselling newly diagnosed children at the organisation.

“She was happy to share what she knew,” said Moffat.

After teaching, she became a bowler, playing her first national tournament in 2011 after only six weeks of training.

Beppie won her first national gold in 2014 and two years later, she participated in her first international tournament, winning a gold medal in pairs and a silver in singles in the Israel Open as part of the South African invitational squad.

She was also a skier and an open water swimmer, with seven Midmar Mile finisher medals and other open water swimming accolades.

Community involvement

In 2015, along with national bowler May Homer, she founded VIBE and was president for seven years.

She did an accessibility course at the University of the Free State, which enabled her to assess buildings for accessibility for people with disabilities.

“She was everywhere in the community. Be it at church or doing motivational talks for groups like Rotary. She was always cheerful,” Cedric said.

Last national tournament

In May, she played her last nationals in pain after finding out the cancer had spread to her lungs.

As a dedicated bowler, she played through the pain and came out of the tournament as the second-best woman in the country.

“We went to England on June 28 because she wanted to see our daughters. She was fine but would be very sore in the mornings and often battled to get up.

“We took her to the park on a Wednesday with my daughter and granddaughter. When we returned, she said she wanted to lie down. Once she said that I knew there was a problem because Beppie never stopped going. I realised there was a problem with her breathing.

“She went to the hospital, and after tests and X-rays, they found she had a blood clot and had developed pneumonia. She passed away on the Friday,” said an emotional Cedric.

Such was Beppie’s impact on people that Cedric received over 400 messages of condolences from friends globally upon her passing.

Of Beppie, Cedric said, “She was a dedicated person. Her motto was ‘life might serve you cacti but you don’t have to sit on them’.”

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