MOSSEL BAY NEWS - This Valentine’s Day was extra special for the family and friends of Valerie Murray, who celebrated her 102nd birthday.
Surrounded by long-time friends and her son, Mike Keet (77), Murray donned all pink for her birthday party at the Groenkloof Great Brak River Retirement Village, and the estate even gave her a tiara to wear.
Speaking to Mossel Bay Advertiser about his mother and her life, Keet said Murray had familial ties to Mossel Bay dating all the way back to the mid-1800s.
It was Murray’s great-great-grandfather, Rev Thomas Sheard, who came to Mossel Bay from the UK with Bp Robert Grey, the first Anglican bishop of Cape Town, in the 1840s.
Sheard was the first rector of the Anglican community in Mossel Bay. He is buried at the Point Cemetery in Mossel Bay.
Murray, however, grew up Ceres. In 1945, she gave birth to her first child, Bernard, and then in 1948, Mike was born.
Val Murray with her two young sons, Mike and Bernard Keet in Cape Town.
She remarried a man named Douglas Murray in the late 1950s after they met in Cape Town. Mike went on to move with his mother and Douglas to live in Johannesburg for several years, while Bernard stayed behind in Cape Town with his father.
Val and Douglas then moved to Somerset West upon Doug’s retirement. Mike moved to Mossel Bay in 1990.
Val has been here for almost two decades now and has made many friends at Groenkloof.
Mike Keet, Shirley Fenn, Sarie Venter, Val Murray, Maria Hannekom, Elsie van Staden and Doreen Swarts. Photo: Chelsea Pieterse
Talking about his mother and her hobbies and talents, Mike said Valerie loved crocheting and pewterwork.
“She painted beautifully. She gave away many of her paintings over the years, but there are a few I have kept that I love,” he said.
“She was very artistic in her younger years, and she was a fantastic gardener. She especially loved her roses and flowers, and could tell you all sorts of things about the plants in her garden.
Val Murray and her son, Mike Keet. Photo: Chelsea Pieterse
“My mum was also the handywoman in the household when I was growing up,” Mike laughed.
“Douglas was useless at changing a lightbulb and fixing small things up around the house, but she could do all of that. She still knew how to change a lightbulb about two years ago, when she was 100 years old.”
Nowadays, Val prefers to people-watch, although she is still very fond of being taken out to view the gardens around Groenkloof.
“Whenever she sees the flowers, she lights up like a candle,” said Mike.
He said Val loves Groenkloof and all the friends she has made.
Mike Keet with two of his mother's paintings. Photo: Chelsea Pieterse
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