Service-minded stalwart celebrates milestone
She is active in the Lions Club of Kingsburgh and St Mary's Anglican Church.
A WELL-KNOWN figure in the community, Gwen Ellis celebrated her 80th birthday on Thursday, 2 July.
A luncheon party was held in the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd to celebrate the milestone event which was attended by 60 people, all members of her family or close friends.
Gwen arrived in this area in 1956 at the age of nearly 21, to start her teaching career at Kingsway High School, which was situated where Amanzimtoti High School now stands.
Shortly after her arrival, she met Brian Ellis and they were married in December 1957.
Except for a short spell of teaching at the Warner Beach Senior Primary and time off to have three babies, she continued to teach at Kingsway until she decided to take early retirement in 1993.
That was not, however, the end of her teaching career as she was involved in a number of locum positions including a fairly long spell at Durban Girls College. She was also involved in starting up a school in Lower Illovo for pupils of I Care and she taught there for almost a year.
In the meantime she joined the Lions Club of Kingsburgh in 1999, where she is still an active member. She is also an active member of St Mary’s Anglican Church in Warner Beach.
Gwen continues to remain involved and active in the community. “I am a people person. I really enjoy interacting with people and being part of their lives.That is probably also what made me take up teaching and keep at it for so many years. The interaction with bright young people (and also the not-so-bright) has been a motivating force in my life.
Added to that, I am a committed Christian and feel the service I render to others, through my church and my Lions Club, is what God wants me to do. He, our Lord, has also blessed me with good health, a wonderful family and a vast number of really good friends. What more could one ask for?”
When asked if she misses her teaching days she replies: “ I miss the children and the camaraderie in the staffroom, but not the marking.”
Gwen has three children and five grandchildren.
