At the ripe old age of 101 years, Marguerite Horn (born Retief) could still quote bits from Wordsworth: "I wandered lonely as a cloud, when all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils..."! Daffodils were her favourite flowers.
She was born on 26 August 1914 and spent her first 10 years in Malawi (then Nyasaland). Her parents were missionaries and Marguerite and her brothers and sisters were sent to South Africa to Retief and Murray family members to complete their school and university education. After receiving a BA degree (mathematics and English) at the University of Cape Town, she went to Stellenbosch University for a teachers diploma.
This is where she met Mike Horn, a theology student, and both became deeply involved in Moral Rearmament. They were married in 1940 and three years later Mike joined the allied forces in Europe as a Chaplain of the Dutch Reformed Church.
On her own, with two small children, Marguerite wrote most of the verses in this booklet.
When Mike returned they had a very strong sense to leave the ministry and in 1948 they settled on a small farm in Vaalharts, near Kimberley. Their four children grew up on this farm. Marguerite taught English and Maths at local schools while Mike gave his full attention to farming and local issues. “You can serve people equally well from a tractor seat as from the pulpit!” he said.
In 1976 they moved to Stellenbosch and for the next 17 years they opened their home and their hearts to countless students and visitors. In their visitors book the names of about 1 500 students appear, as well as signatures of dozens of international visitors.
Years later ex-students would recall the tasty meals and the “sympathetic ears” that meant so much to young people, far from their homes.
Marguerite had 11 grandchildren and her great-grandchildren now number 20. At her 100th birthday celebration the great-grandchildren entertained the guests with some of the verses in this booklet, to the delight of “Ouma ’Riet”. She passed away peacefully at her daughter’s home on 24 April 2016.
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Op die ouderdom van 101 kon Marguerite Horn (gebore RetiefI nog stukkies aanhaal uit Wordsworth: "I wandered lonely as a cioud When alt at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils..."! Affodille is haar gunstelingblomme. Sy IS op 26 Augustus 19U gebore en het haar eerste 10 jaar in Malawi Idestyds Njassaland) deurgebring. Haar ouers was sendelinge.
Marguerite en haar broers en susters is na families in Suid-Afrika gestuur om hul skool - en universtiteitsopleiding te voltooi. Sy het 'n BA-graad in Wiskunde en Engels aan die Universiteit van Kaapstad behaal en daarna 'n onderwysdiploma aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch. Dis waar sy ook vir Mike Horn, 'n teologiese student, ontmoet het.
Hulle is in 1960 getroud en drie jaar later, tydens die Tweede Wereldoorlog, is Mike as Kapelaan van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk na die Noorde gestuur. Op haar eie gedurende hierdie tyd, met twee klein kindertjies, het Marguerite meeste van die versies in hierdie boek geskryf. Na Mike se terugkeer het hulle sterk gevoel dat hulle van koers moes verander en het hulle getrek na 'n klem plasie op die Vaalhartsnedersetting naby Kimberley. Hul vier kinders het hier grootgeword.
Marguerite het vir die daaropvolgende 25 jaar Wiskunde en Engels gegee in die plaaslike skole en Mike het hom hart en siel met boerdery en boere-sake vereenselwig. '"n Mens kan mense net so goed van 'n trekker af bearbei!" het hy gereken. In 1976 het hutle in Stellenbosch afgetree en in die daaropvolgende 17 jaar hul tuiste en harte oopgemaak vir honderde studente. In hul besoekersboek is ongeveer 1 500 name van studente, asook name van internasionale besoekers, aangeteken.
Jare daarna het oud-studente nog melding gemaak van die gulhartige maaltye en die "simpatieke oor" wat so baie beteken het vir studente, ver van die huis af. Marguerite het 11 kleinkinders en 17 agterkleinkmders (2015). Tydens haar 100ste verjaardagpartytjie het van die agterkleinkinders 'n paarvan die gediggies in hierdie boek voorgedra, tot groot plesier van 'Guma Riet'.
