With the passing of Mrs Leona Amoraal on 11 February, almost a month before her 82nd birthday, many alumni’s immediate reaction was that it is the end of an era.
Mrs Amoraal – the nomenclature many of us still used, even years after leaving the department; sommer calling her Leona was not on – was part of Crozier Street’s journalism department since its establishment in 1978.
At first, she was part of the lecturer team. Later, until her retirement at age 65, she was also the departmental secretary. With both her daughters living in Windhoek, Namibia, she and her husband also resettled to Windhoek. There, she enjoyed the love and luxury of being close to her grandchildren, whom she adored. Despite being retired, while still in Stellenbosch, she would often pop into the department, and after moving to Windhoek, still held close contact with Crozier Street.Her second daughter with whom she was pregnant in 1978 – well-planned, of course, with Lezél only being born at the end of the academic year – is also an alumna of the department.
For the first part of Mrs Amoraal’s “Crozier life” she was the typing (later computer typing) instructor. But what alumni will especially recall: also the shorthand and snelskrif instructor. Note: They are two different systems. Plus: In the first years of the department, Crozier Street’s students had to master both. Because, obviously, politicians in that period spoke both English and Afrikaans, and journalists had to take down their speeches/interviews in the language they spoke. Never mind that the tape recorder (and yes, it was a TAPE recorder) by then was already long in existence. The first Head of Department, Prof Piet Cillié, wanted his students to also have that skill that English journalists had – and that was to transcribe – like lightning – whatever has been said in shorthand. Or snelskrif.
To Piet and Mrs Amoraal’s disdain, the first year’s intake discovered in the Yearbook that it was not necessary to pass shorthand/snelskrif to pass the course. They nevertheless asked us (nicely) to please try our best. We did. Or at least, we tried.
With Mrs Amoraal’s passing, it truly is the end of an era – but the Crozier Street legend will always live on.
Mrs Leona Amoraal adored her grandchildren. Here she is with her daughter Lézel’s girls Mareli Füscher (left) en Ameli Füscher (right).
Mev Leona Amoraal het in haar later jare in Windhoek gewoon~ naby aan haar kleinkinders. Hier is sy met Mareli Füscher (links), Ameli Füscher (regs) en Jean Esterhuizen op ouma se skoot.
By die Veertigste verjaardagviering van die Departement Joernalistiek is erkenning gegee aan Mev. Amoraal as onlosmaaklike deel van die departement se geskiedenis en groei. Hier is sy saam met voormalige faktotum, Danie Williams en sy dogter, Lijuan Williams-Daniels (regs), huidige departementele assistent.
Mev Amoraal het in die 2014 uitgawe van die alumninuusbrief, Janus, in haar eie woorde geskryf hoe die studente gestoei het met tik en snelskrif.
