Rachel Le Kay celebrated a great milestone this year, turning 100 years old. A century defined by resilience, devotion and an unwavering faith that carried her through South Africa’s evolving dispensations.
She takes us down memory lane, through periods that shaped her resilience. Periods that today’s Gen Zs would never survive a day in.
Looking not a day older than 70, Le Kay is dressed in a colourful dress that makes her look like she is about to hit the town. She remembered the good old days as she stood next to her birthday cake adorned with the number 100.
Born in 1926 in Richmond in the Northern Cape, Le Kay was one of seven siblings.
Her family relocated to Kimberley in 1932 during the Great Depression, a move she remembers as formative.
Close-knit sense of community
Kimberley in her youth was a close-knit place, long before apartheid reshaped communities.
“We knew everybody in the neighbourhood,” she recalls.
The family home housed parents, grandparents and children. And her grandfather, a horse-and-cart trader at local markets, played a central role in her upbringing.
One of her earliest vivid memories dates back to 1933, the Jubilee year. This was when the Queen Mother visited Kimberley and distributed gifts to schoolchildren.
She said education was encouraged, and in 1939 she enrolled at a teachers’ training college.
Although she did not complete her studies, a move to Worcester to work in a clothing factory changed her life.
“That is where my passion for sewing started, a skill that later sustained my family,” she said.
Prayer, chores mandatory in everyday life
Growing up required discipline. Unlike iPads and fast foods, she remembers her childhood evenings with a sense of pride.
Evenings were spent under oil lamps, not electric lights. With supper, prayer and chores strictly observed.
“When friends visited, they had to stay until prayers were done and the dishes were washed,” she recalls.
Cars were rare, bicycles common. And parents were firm about relationships, always enquiring about a suitor’s background. No “sliding into a suitor’s DM” on social media apps. Such moves would have been taboo back then.
She married a young man from her neighbourhood after a two-year courtship, guided by a simple belief.
“Putting God first makes a relationship last. Our marriage was built on tolerance, obedience, trust, diligence and bearing each other’s burdens,” she said.
Single mother of seven
Her greatest trial came when her husband died in a train accident. This left her with seven children, the youngest just three months old.
“I had to be strong because my children were young,” she says.
As a single parent, she worked tirelessly, sewing late into the night to provide for them.
Le Kay later became a shop steward and rose through the ranks. She became branch secretary of the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers. And she continued working until the age of 70.
The role allowed her to travel and meet prominent figures, including president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Secret to longevity
Now 100, she remains active and independent. She said she dresses up daily as if she is going to work. And she credits her faith, hard work and commitment to everything that she sets her sights on, as her secret to longevity.
Too many distractions in the lives of today’s youth. There’s too many pressures to become everything. Instead of focusing on what one is good at and putting all their passion into it. And all this distracts them from their faith, she says.
“I enjoy wine gums and guava roll, God’s grace is sufficient for me. In my weakness, He is strong. Celebrating 100 years has shown me that God’s grace is real,” she beamed as she cut her birthday cake, which was not big enough for 100 candles.
