On Sunday afternoon, 25 November 2018, family, friends and colleagues gathered to say farewell to Lucia Raadschelders. Hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the event paid tribute to a life well lived and prematurely ended.
Following Lucia’s wishes, it was a modest occasion, with the emphasis on storytelling. Three of her nine siblings travelled from the Netherlands to attend. Her brother, Jan Raadschelders, shared reminiscences from her childhood.
A number of her former Operation Vula comrades attested to her courage and her deep commitment to the struggle for freedom in South Africa and elsewhere. Close friends told stories of her love for wilderness and the way in which she had made peace with mortality. Colleagues praised her professionalism as an archivist. And the Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands shared a message of condolence.
Luce will be sorely missed. Hamba kahle, mkhonto.
Nelson Mandela Foundation CE Sello Hatang pays tribute to Lucia Raadschelders, one of the Foundation's senior archivists and a former anti-apartheid activist.
(Image: Nelson Mandela Foundation)
Lucia Raadschelders' brother, Jan Raadschelders, travelled to South Africa from the Netherlands to attend the Nelson Mandela Foundation's tribute to his sister.
(Image: Nelson Mandela Foundation)
Verne Harris, Director of the Nelson Mandela Foundation's Archive and Dialogue division, pays tribute to Lucia Raadschelders, a friend and colleague.
(Image: Nelson Mandela Foundation)
Former Deputy Sars Commissioner Ivan Pillay pays tribute to Lucia Raadschelders.
(Image: Nelson Mandela Foundation)
Lucia Raadschelders' siblings, friends and colleagues pay tribute to a life well lived. Left to right: author and activist Elinor Sisulu; Nelson Mandela Foundation CE Sello Hatang; Raadschelders' brothers, Jos Raadschelders, Jan Raadschelders and Paul Raadschelders; former Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils; vice-president of the Electoral Commission of SA Janet Love; and businesswoman Totsie Memela.
(Image: Nelson Mandela Foundation)