TWO Southside Angels members, Judy Clements and Dennis Botha, died tragically on May 17 when their motorbike collided with a car on the corner of South Rand and Heidelberg roads.
They were well known in South HillS for the selfless service they gave to the community – they regularly handed out food parcels to indigent families, found safe havens for babies, tackled child abuse, did drug counselling and dealt with domestic violence. They also assisted schools in the South with counselling.
Lourens Smit, who worked with them, spoke to the COURIER, confirming the accident and passing on condolences to the family.
South Africa Search and Rescue’s Cornelia Rudman, who also worked with the couple, conveyed the organisation’s condolences to their family and friends. “Judy and Dennis will be remembered for their community work, the soup kitchen feeding 70 people weekly, the handing out of clothes and blankets and doing so much for the less fortunate and putting their lives on the line for their community – also for their willingness to always assist. Their legacy will live on in Southside Angels and the hearts of everyone they assisted. Our heartfelt condolences go to their family, friends and especially their children.
“They were in an accident on South Rand Road. Dennis died on impact and Judy was declared brain-dead the following afternoon and her life support was switched off. We, as her closest friends, are broken. I love her kids like my own. We would like to carry on their legacy and their children asked me to take over, which I will, as we started this together and it will be in their honour from this day forward,” Cornelia said.
Judy and Dennis were originally from KwaZulu-Natal and then moved to Ermelo, where they assisted the orphanages and less fortunate before moving to the South. They are survived by five children: Jason, John, Julian, Julia and Denise.
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