Thembalami centenarian Bick dies soon after mammoth celebrations
JOBURG –– Joseph Gabriel 'Bick' Stewart, the man who recently turned a 100 years and showered with mammoth celebrations, has died.
After a colourful life, a northeastern Johannesburg centenarian who was recently thrown a befitting party by his family, friends and acquaintances of the Lombardy East Bowling Club, has died in little more than a month of turning 100 years old.
Joseph Gabriel Stewart, known to all at the bowling club as Bick, died in the early morning of 13 November, after he had celebrated his 100th birthday on 2 October. A longstanding member of the club who had actively played in fun bowls tournaments until recently, Bick was also an active member of the Moth’s Tim Lukin Shellhole and had been for many years. He served in the South African Airforce during World War 2 in North Africa.
Bick’s noteworthy and eventful life was celebrated on 2 October by his friends and staff of Thembalami Care Centre, a Rand Aid retirement home where Bick lived, and the Lombardy East Bowling Club also hosted another event as part of the celebratory activities.
The club also hosted another celebration for him with his friends, club and Moth members, and his family – some of whom came from as far afield as the United Kingdom – on 5 October.
On the day, a helicopter ride from Grand Central Airport in Midrand to the Shellhole was organised for Bick and as it landed, a guard of honour was there to greet him.
The Tim Lukin Shellhole, where he spent decades as a member, also celebrated his birthday on 6 October at the Shellhole in Edenvale while another birthday party for the stalwart was a combined event at Thembalami on 15 October for all the residents of the home.
According to Desiree Levin, a member of the Lombardy East Bowling Club and long-time friend of Bick, the centenarian died at his Thembalami retirement home. At the time of going to press, funeral arrangements had not been finalised.
Born in Turffontein, Johannesburg on 2 October 1919, Bick is survived by his two daughters, four grandchildren and one great granddaughter who he had not seen before, most of whom now live in London.
Bick believed that his recipe for longevity came from an unshakable faith in the Almighty God and he attended church every Wednesday and Friday.
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