Retirement home celebrates centurion
The APN retirement home celebrated Herman Brunswg who turned 100 years on July 11.
AN APN Retirement Home resident, Herman Brunswg, looks back at the events of his life as he celebrates a century. Brunswg will be turning 100 years old on July 11 and has been a resident at the home for 30 years. He continues to bring light and positivity to the home.
Also read: Waterfall Gardens resident celebrates 100 years of life
Asunet Botha of the retirement home described Brunswg as an optimistic person who looks forward to each day.
“He dresses up every day to sit outside and enjoy the sun; he is happy to be alive and looks forward to each day,” she said.
The centenarian Brunswg said he was born in Chile as his parents lived in Patagonia, southern Argentina, where there were no hospitals at that time.
“My father was a corvette commander during World War I but, later, was a sheep farm manager in Argentina where I lived for the first five years of my life,” he said.
He said that, in 1929, he moved with his mother and siblings to Berlin. He attended the Hindenburg Gymnasium in Düsseldorf up until the beginning of the World War II, in 1939, when they moved back to Argentina where he continued to work and eventually got married.
“There, I started work in a Ford workshop in San Rafael, and at the age of 17, I flew to Buenos Aires to become active in the cotton-spinning industry. It was there, at a dance, that I met my future wife, Beatrice, and we had two children,” he said.
Also read: Granny Woggie celebrates 100 years of life
Brunswg worked in the timber industry until he was over 80 years old, when his daughter recommended that he should relocate to South Africa. “It was here that my wife, Beatrice, became ill and was cared for at APN for 10 years.”
After his wife passed on, Brunswg met Christel whom he later tied the knot with.
“After a church service, I drove Christel to her son, Klaus. Gradually, a friendship developed that led to marriage after my beloved Beatrice had died. Now, I am also in the care centre and look forward to Christel’s visit and our chats” he said.
The APN Retirement Home will host a birthday party to celebrate Brunswg’s 100 years.
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