Update
GEORGE NEWS - Georgian Dolly Subramoney (54) passed away on Monday evening, 24 August, in the George Hospital ICU, two weeks after sustaining severe burn wounds in a fire at Ou Tol Cango Retreat on Sunday 9 August.
Subramoney was spending the weekend at the retreat with two friends. They awoke in the early hours of 9 August to flames engulfing their chalet and escaped through a window, Subramoney being the last to scramble through.
Her condition initially improved and she was taken off the ventilator, but it worsened at the end of last week and her two sons, Delaney Subramoney-Cloete (president of Eden Lions), and D'Angelo, had been keeping vigil at her bedside since the weekend.
Delaney on Monday night sent out a heart-rending message of Subramoney's passing: "It's with great sorrow but slight relief, that D'Angelo and I need to let everyone know that our brave and beautiful mom, Dolly, has passed away tonight at 18:40. We spent the whole day with her, relaying messages and voice notes, reliving old stories and showing each other how much we loved each other.
"About five minutes before she passed, I recited the Lord's Prayer for her and D'Angelo, and she looked at us with peace in her eyes. She passed away gracefully and comfortably, and left an immediate and tangible void when her soul ascended to God."
Subramoney's 30-year career in the police included working as a VIP protection officer at Parliament as a youngster and later with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the testimony of PW Botha. She was promoted to captain after moving to George, where she served at Pacaltsdorp, the Magistrate's Court and the George and Conville police stations, from where she retired.
She was the chair of the Eden Judo Association and through this organisation organised self-defence classes for girls and women, especially at the Phambili Shelter for Battered Women.
Carl van Blerk, a former president of Eden Lions, said she was an extremely dedicated member. "Dolly was one of the 21 charter members when we started the club 11 years ago. She has served in various portfolios and as president. She gave a lot of her time on a volunteer basis and this to me defines the character of the special person she was. It is still hard to believe she is gone."
Subramoney also ran the Lions' coffee shop in the Outeniqua Transport Museum.
Delaney said she was an extremely independent woman who served the community with compassion and determination and loved to travel. She was always a loving mother and highly protective of her two sons, whom she brought up to have the same independent bearing in life.
She leaves behind two brothers, Dennis and Danny, and her sister Thamin, as well as her sons Delaney (26) and D'Angelo (19).
Burial arrangements had not yet been been finalised at the time of going to print.
Previous articles:
- Geliefde Dolly sterf
- Son of burn patient asks for prayers
- Fire victim transferred to Tygerberg
- Getaway for friends ends in disaster
- George woman in ICU after fire
- Former police officer escapes death after cabin burns down
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