Gladys Antonia Pillay

Our beloved mom, Gladys Antonia was the 6th child of the late Emmanuel Chinnapen Savarrie and the late Jane Rebecca Savarrie of 57 Larkspur Road, Springtown, Durban who instilled in her a staunch faith in Catholicism and duty to family. She represented these two values to the highest degree.

Her late brothers Joseph, Rodgers, Lawrence and Jerome, admired her for her strong personality and leadership in their family. They often recounted to us, her children, the many times our mom would stand strong and fearlessly in the face of adversity. She was a woman born before her time even correcting her school teacher at just 8 years old on the workings of the universe.

Her late sisters Rosemary and Elizabeth, and her youngest sister Audrey also loved mom dearly which was often shown through their love and affection for us, her children.

My mom simply adored her nieces and nephews. In the early years of their lives, she would take them shopping being a fashionista of the seventies and would dance with them to the Beatles or Elvis. I know that each one of them has very special memories with her. Our mom treated our cousins with the same love and devotion that she treated her own kids. She remembered all their birthdays without a calendar - it was etched in her mind because she loved them all dearly. Everyone loved Aunty Gladys she was the life of the party. From her singing, to her dancing, to her cooking, everyone showed up at mommy’s house for many years whether it was Christmas, Easter or an ordinary Saturday in June.

Mom’s devotion and duty to family continued with her own: Desanne, Daryl, Clarissa and myself. We nicknamed our mom the fierce lioness -shoo- nothing stood a chance when her children faced adversity. No matter our age our mom stood behind us ten toes down. She gave us strength to take risks and she was our biggest cheerleader when we succeeded, and if we fell she always told us straight up where we went wrong. We didn’t always appreciate it in the moment but mom never molly coddled us, she knew that true love is to give correction and discipline when needed. She was our compass to truth, sometimes the painful truth, but she never let us navigate it on our own. When we were ready she was encouraging and supportive.

Mom adored her grandchildren Telesa, Michael, Gabrielle, Christopher, Kiara and Kalyan. They were her pride and joy. She poured out her love to them in ways that we know they will cherish forever. Mom prayed for each of her grandchildren and children daily.
It is the greatest blessing to be prayed for, by my mom. I know many of our family and friends sitting here have encountered the power of God through mom’s prayers. She would open her heart for those she loved and ask with complete faith for God’s blessings.

So far I have talked about everyone’s relationship with mom except her soulmate, her devoted husband, our precious Papa, Tags.
She was feisty and passionate whilst Dad was easygoing and reserved but their bond was built on commitment, devotion and duty - this was the foundation of their relationship.
Their devotion to each other was unmatched - whilst they have had some very spirited “discussions” through the years, they were always on the same team.

They were the original power couple each coming from a different religious backgrounds and had to navigate where they would get married, which religion would the children follow, and how to present a united front in a world full of prejudice.

And so they did it all together:
They married on the 15th September 1971 at a church in Durban. At the beginning of their marriage they lived with my dad’s uncle Fred and our aunty Rose. They welcomed their first born Desanne into the world, followed by their first baby boy, Daryl. They spoke often about those happy years. They also told us about the adversity they faced together which they overcame by relying on each other’s strength.
Their third child, Chantel (me) was born 5 years after Daryl so they bought
their first house in 1980 in Cool Air, Pietermaritzburg which my uncle Len (Jerome) had helped them find. Our home was always filled with family even though we now lived an hour away from where my parents had grown up.

Mom, together with Dad, ensured that we were brought up in the faith. They taught us that our values and principles come from Bible. Leading by example they took us to 7am mass at Wartburg Parish where we met the Barco’s our closest friends and adopted family through Christ. All the children from both families were aged a year apart from each other so they celebrated Holy Communion’s and Confirmations into the faith over the years at Wartburg Parish.
At the age of 4, I asked our mom for a Walking-Talking doll, and she blessed our home with a beautiful baby girl, Clarissa.
Mom was driven and wanted to give her family the best opportunity for success so with Dad’s support, she moved alone to Johannesburg in 1990, to set up a better life for her family. For those six months, Dad would make the six hour drive to Joburg every fortnight to visit mom. It was then that i realized that they were inseparable.

We were now living 6 hours away from our extended family but Mom sought each and everyone out with the many trips we made back to Durban. She always remembered her aunts and uncles, her all cousins, her brothers, sisters, all her in-laws, her nieces and nephews and all their children too. Mom had the best memory because she never forgot a birthday or anniversary of any of them. As before, our home was always filled with family and friends at Christmas, Easter and any ordinary weekday. Mom had an open house to all.
She tried to instill in us the importance of family relations and to be dutiful in loving and caring for each other.

Mom had a passion for the Lord and traveled to Lourdes, France on her own to fulfill her vow of healing received in the mid nineties. She was brave and devout. We prayed the rosary daily and welcomed worship in our home every Tuesday. Mom was the shining example of Christ as she opened our home to family and stranger alike.
Mom made many trips overseas in the noughties to Ireland, Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Italy, The Vatican, France, Portugal, Jerusalem in Israel and Jordon. She made sure that she visited the churches, cathedrals, shrines and religious sites. She prayed for all her family, relatives and friends in those places and brought back statues, medals and rosaries for everyone.

Mom taught us about commitment, devotion and duty to Almighty God and to family. She will be sorely missed and we will cherish all our memories of her.

Gladys Antonia Pillay, beloved wife of Tags Pillay, devoted mother of Desanne, Daryl, Chantel and Clarissa, loving mother-in-law to Elizabeth and Roderick, and adored grandmother of Telesa, Michael, Gabrielle, Christopher, Kiara and Kalyan, and dutiful sister, aunt, relative and friend, has left a void in our world and only Our Lord Jesus can help us walk the rest of our journey now. 🙏🏾