Reaching the age of 100 is something to celebrate, and that is exactly what was done for Cathy Schlebusch over the weekend when she celebrated her 100th birthday.
Danville, Pretoria (23 August 2021) – Catherine Elizabeth Schlebusch was born on the 20th of August 1921 at Mamre’s German Morovian Mission Station, approximately 59km from Cape Town; she celebrated her 100th birthday this past week and was treated to a high tea to mark the special day.
Catherine, who goes by Cathy, enjoyed a happy and loving childhood with her brother Sakkie but when she was six years old, her mother passed from tuberculosis (TB).
“I can still recall the happy times we spent with my mother: learning music, singing and dancing! Her death dramatically impacted my life, but my determination and belief in God carried me through this difficult time. The tables changed when we moved back to my grandfather and family in Sea Point,” Cathy says.
She joined the Anglican church, finished her education and closed off her teenage years with fond memories.
“As a child I was brought up in a very religious home which set the sequence for my life’s journey. By the grace of God I managed to stay on course. As a child, our Lord took my hand and guided me to where I am today. For that I praise Him and sing to His glory,” she says.
Cathy went on to become an Anglican nun and trained as a teacher. She travelled from South Africa to Zambia, where she was the headmistress of a mission school in Lusaka. She returned to South Africa eight years later after several bouts of malaria.
In South Africa, she settled in Grahamstown and continued her love of teaching, this time helping South African orphans.
Cathy’s love of helping others sent her all over the world, from helping in England to running a Methodist elderly home in Klerksdorp. She spent her later years working with the Salvation Army.
At the age of 66, Cathy met her husband Ben Schlebusch, and they spent nine years together until his passing in 1996.
“I sang in the choir at St Albans cathedral, so I had to sit behind in the choir loft. Ben sat in the pews right in the middle of the church. When I went down to the alter to receive communion, he used to take my hand as I passed by his pew, and we then received communion together,” she says.
“Ben one year won the Cha-Cha championship! We’ve spent nine very happy years together until he passed on in 1996 at the age of 74.”
Cathy retired in 2013, and after a hip replacement, she moved to Ons Tuis: Van Rensburg, where she has spent the remainder of her retirement. Ons Tuis: Van Rensburg in Danville hosted her for a flamboyant high tea in honour of her 100th birthday.
“Apart from celebrating a magnificent milestone, we wanted her to relish a special day in honour of her remarkable character. She dedicated her life in serving the Lord and others,” says Sr Jenny Wesson, manager of Ons Tuis: Van Rensburg.
“By the grace of God I am celebrating my 100th birthday today. Since I was a child He has guided and strengthened me, for that I am forever thankful,” Cathy says.
by 