Maggie “Mamma” Villett was at a voter registration in the Mitchells Plain Town Centre on the Saturday before she died. Two days earlier, she had been at the Beaconvale Frail Care Centre doing victim support work. At 79, she never stopped giving her time to others.

Villett passed away on Saturday 1 August, after a cold that settled in her lungs. Her daughter, Nicollete Adonis, said her mother had not been seriously ill.

“She wasn’t really sick,” said Adonis. “She had a cold and the cold just never cleared up. She just passed on because it affected her lungs.”

Adonis said Villett had been less active in the two weeks before her death because of the flu, but had continued her community work right up until then.

A life rooted in service

Born on 1 June 1947 in Cape Town, Villett grew up in Athlone, where she completed her schooling. She was the second youngest of four children, two of whom have since passed away.

She married Mark Villett, who died about six years ago. Together they had five children, but endured the loss of two of them. She is survived by her three children, Niel, Nicollete and Joseph, her 15 grandchildren and her 11 great-grandchildren.

Villett dedicated her working life to education. In 1998, she opened her own early childhood development centre. She was also a founding member of the Early Childhood Development Forum, a body that represents these centres.

A wide reach in the community

Villett’s community work spanned decades and touched many areas. She was a founding member of the Mitchells Plain Community Substance Abuse Support Group and was involved in drug rehabilitation and outreach to people living on the streets.

She volunteered with the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (Nicro) in Mitchells Plain and later served on the Nicro management committee. Norman Jantjes, who was the director of Nicro in Eastridge in the early 1990s, said he met her there and that she became a trusted volunteer and committee member.

“As a committee member she was very active and committed,” he said. “She played a vital role in various community events, especially fundraising events. We maintained regular contact as she remained a dedicated community activist.”

Jantjes, who is now the chair of the Mitchells Plain United Residents’ Association, said he was saddened by her sudden passing. He expressed his condolences to the family and thanked them for sharing her with the community.

Villett also served as a ward committee member — a body that works with the elected councillor to address community needs — belonged to the Local Network of Care, and was involved in the Strandfontein Crime Prevention Victim Support Group and the Eden community structure.

The campsite years

Ricky de Reuck, director of the Cape Flats YMCA, a youth organisation, said Villett and her husband managed the organisation’s campsite in Strandfontein for several years. He said Mr Villett had built the stands by the soccer field at the campsite.

“It was fantastic to have Auntie Maggie manage the campsite,” said De Reuck. “Auntie Maggie will always be remembered for community work, but more so for the passion that she had for the campsite and the people on the campsite during covid as well.”

De Reuck said Villett moved off the campsite the year after her husband died.

Remembered as Mamma

An obituary written by her son-in-law reads: “To almost everyone who knew her, she was never simply ‘Maggie’ — she was lovingly known as ‘Mamma’.”

It goes on to say that she became a mother to many beyond her own family, always willing to help and often giving her very last to someone else. She is described as a God-fearing woman whose life reflected her faith, and “her joyful spirit, warm smile and infectious laughter could light up any room”.

“Mamma, you were truly a legend in every aspect of your life. Your love will live on in our hearts forever. Fly high, Mamma. Rest peacefully in the arms of the Lord,” it read.

Memorial service

Mitchells Plain Advice Office seniors, where Villett worked for many years, held a memorial service on 5 August at the Town Centre Library.

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