PROMINENT member of the community, Isabel Moira Akal (nee Assad) passed away on 4 January at the age of 106. Born on 26 March, 1914, Akal grew up in the then Transvaal before settling in Durban North where she lived for more than 50 years.
A devout believer, Akal is known for her service to the Catholic Church. On her 100th birthday she was presented a Papal Medal by Monsignor Paul Nadal at Our Lady of Fathima Catholic Church in Durbn North.
Daughter, Marcelle Tschudin said Akal passed away peacefully in her St Kilda Avenue home where she had lived since 1970.
“She passed away very peacefully, she left like the angel she came into the world as,” said Tschudin.
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Akal was the daughter of Said and Zahia Assad, who had immigrated to South Africa from Lebanon in 1904 before settling in Barberton in what was known as the Eastern Transvaal. She was educated in Ermelo by the Dominican Sisters and obtained her matric before working for a prominent lawyer. She married George Akal in 1938. The couple had five children, 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Among Akal’s charity work was her involvement in the St Vincent De Paul’s Society, the Flower Society and the Catholic Women’s League.
Akal’s grandson, Alain Tschudin said her lifetime spanned several landmarks in history.
“She was born just before World War I started. By the time World War II finished, she had just turned 30. By the time the crisis of the 1960s happened she was 50 years old. She had lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War and the apartheid human rights violations in South Africa. From the perspective of history, she lived through so many radical changes – from man on the moon to the discovery of DNA and the fourth industrial revolution,” he said.
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In July the family had been advised by doctors that Akal had a handful of days left to live as her heart was weakening.
“She fought on courageously until her passing in January. She stayed with us for many more than just a handful of days. We are living in hard times with Covid-19, with all the misery, it’s quite easy to lose hope, but my grandmother was always thankful. She would thank us for visiting, she was grateful to her carers. She was a very grateful person. She had a profound prayer life – she was a devoted Christian and would always say ‘God bless you’ no matter how much pain she was in,” he added.
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