Katzenellenbogen celebrates 100 extraordinary years

It’s not every day that you meet a centenarian like Peggy Katzenellenbogen. From receiving news in 1939 that World War II had broken out while being a girl guide, to being in Jerusalem in 1946 when the King David Hotel was bombed, to surviving South African’s strongest ever earthquake in 1969 when it struck Tulbagh, Wolseley and Ceres in the Western Cape, Peggy Katzenellenbogen (née Katz) has lived an extraordinary life.

The proud “Boerejood” was born to Lithuanian parents on 14 April 1925 in the small town of Nieuwoudtville in the Western Cape, and went to school in the Strand. Katzenellenbogen fondly remembers when her late husband, Isaac “Sakkie” Katzenellenbogen, was the mayor of Wolseley in the Western Cape where they also ran a hotel and a general dealer. Having given up driving only last year, the Golden Acres resident still lives an independent life, and can be found weekly serving and practicing her forehand at the Glenhazel Tennis Club.

A proud mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to more than 30 descendants, Katzenellenbogen remembers each one of her descendant’s birthdays. Her calm demeanour and taking what ever comes her way in her stride are contributing factors to her longevity as well as a thirst to keep learning and educating herself.