In the 90’s, I was on the District Council and Cabinet, living in the Cape, Division D. Then on a Cabinet meeting in Johannesburg I visited a few clubs. One club had a Halloween theme, one member was responsible for all the decor, witches hats and all the usual stuff and had gone to a lot of effort to make it a great evening. That member was Merryl. At that time Carolann and I where the stock custodians for District 74 and attended every Maxi and MiniCon. May and October.

Every time I saw her I would give her a hug and I would suggest she give up smoking. She did stop but then started again. She was excitable and did not hide her feelings. We had an understanding that we could agree to disagree when necessary. There was no animosity, I was like the older brother.

At the training for estate agents I found her to always be willing to try a new or different approach to selling property. She showed sadness and gladness easily. I was sensitive to her dichotomy of emotions. Once I told her “just because you smoke it doesn’t mean you will go to Hell, it will just make you smell like you’ve been there.” She laughed and we hugged. Her enthusiasm for our organisation and the members will be sadly missed. May she find peace rest and eternal comfort. One day, we’ll hug again.

Martin and Carolann Louw