Miss you Daley. I hope you and Susan are having a ball.

How do you go about saying goodbye to someone who made a huge impact on and in your life and meant so much to so many people.  Someone that always kept in touch with her people, always had a smile on her face was the ever optimist, hard worker always strived to be better facing challenges head on. She knew what she wanted and went out in search for it no matter what that may be, work, travel, friends, car’s and much much more. 

This is the Dalie I remember.

Dalie came into my life “bolla and all” in the early 1990’s and we spent the better half of almost 2 decades making memories, going on adventures, laughing and just having fun.  We were young and carefree and went through all the phases of adulting together.

I am sure like me many of her people out in the world there is not a day that has gone by since Dalie left us that the memories come flooding in and most of them involve a lot of laughter, that big smile and bushy/crazy hair, earing, laugh, jokes and heaps of love and kindness.  Her tragic and sudden passing has been hard for many to process and I am sure many feel the same as I do… why do the good always die young and be taken from us so soon and now we left thinking about what we have missed out on. 

Today I would have been sending her another “Happy Birthday you old fart/codger” so here I am saying Happy Birthday Dalie I know you watching down on all of us.

You just never know when someone you love or a very close friend is going to leave us and when they do you realize going through memories and your grieving process how much that person meant to you. Maybe you wish you had made that call, or connected more but life has a crazy way of teaching us that nothing is in our control but its what we learn out of loss that is important. 

The sad thing is it takes Death to make us realize how important life is so let us all learn from this sad and sudden loss to rather enjoy each moment of life, each second of breath and make the memories that make you happy, see the people who make you whole and live the moment not the future. I know that’s what Dalie would say as she was so good at connecting so lesson learnt.  Don’t put off re-connecting with lost friends and learn to forgive and make right now because when they gone its too darn late.

I thank Dalie for so much, she taught me more than I think she even knew. I grew up with her I went from a girl just coming out to a happy, fun adult. Dalie always had a smile on her face and I don’t really remember her getting angry much and if there was a problem she always talked it through to find a solution. She was the perfect party planner taking into account everyone's needs, likes and dislikes. She had this quiet unassuming personality that would just burst out into this wild crazy fun happy go lucky wonderful soul filled with so much love and respect.

Going through all the photos dating back to the 90’s and early 2000’s it makes me warm and fuzzy knowing I had the privilege of having her come into my life and having her love for the time I did. 

I am sure and know that Dalie would want us to all recall the memories the laughter that we all shared and she is looking down on us right now with her big smile, glass of champagne in hand and saying thank you for remembering me and I am watching over you all.

Dalie, buggy, Dale (from Chip&Dale) you will and are missed by so many.
xxx

My dearest and most beloved friend, Dalie, its your birthday day. We would normally have exchanged banter today, "happy birthday old bat" may have come into it. Always teasing each other, having a laugh , we shared all the big birthdays, your 50th was just too lovely. First time I met Tracey and Lodge, you loved them so much and were so proud to introduce them to all of us on that party bus !  If I recall you ended up in the Pint & Pelican afterwards, true Dalie style. Life was for living and live it you did.  

I cannot come to terms with losing you, we didnt plan it this way; it was always about getting old together and watching the sunset in our wheelies with our sensible knee rugs (and a few doras. I thought we had so much more time to share. 
If I could turn back time ....

We last spoke on 24 December, you had just come back from Ghana. I could not believe you were travelling again, but at least you had most of 2020 to be at home with your beloved Johantie and doggies and to be with your beloved Mom. 
We spent so much time chattering about Covid, little did we know this wrecking ball was going to shatter your life and those around you. 
If I could turn back time.... 

Dalie how do I ever express 30 years friendship, the love and care you gave me cannot be replaced. You understood me so well, you were such a gentle friend, an honest and committed friend. Our lives have been entwined for so long, I keep hearing your voice "Hullo Mary" I hear you everywhere. 
If I could turn back time....

I will always treasure the last dinner we shared in August 2020, chatting for hours, it would be the last time I would see you and hug you. I left for KZN you left for your fatal trip to Ghana.
If I could turn back time...

We had an amazing connection from day one, I first met you at Spiga Dora (that word again ...), I think you were about 22 at the time. I couldnt believe how many earrings you had in one ear ! You were so bohemian then. I was a corporate nerd .  But our friendship clicked and stayed clicked for over 30 years.  
You were so very dear and so precious , I will never understand why God chose you so soon.
Tomorrow we will be flying home for your memorial. 
I never can say goodbye to you Dalie, it will be until we meet again my dearest friend.  I will look for signs of you wherever I go.  
In my heart forever you know that .
Love you always
Mary xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dalie, Jet jungle and so much more. We met as almost 3 years old's when you moved next door. We at 23 and you arrived at 21 Hampton road Selcourt Springs. The day was highlighted by a clod fight, Lodge overwhelmed by girls decided throwing clods would impress - ha ha. We, Claire and I were two gals living at #23, we had the St John Lucas girls playing. We were so shocked at the behaviour of the hooligan who'd moved in. That was a memorable introduction. Whilst the older kids hurled clods, Dale and I crouched up to the fence and go to know one another. That was a lifetime ago and one that will stay in my memory bank for as long as I live.
My friend, no matter where we were we always found one another, 52 years of being in each others lives. That's what is so shocking to realise that you've been in my life, for forever and it's so hard to know that I have to go on without you.
That special friend, who knew me as an 'un (a little person), we played, were tomboys, we were never far apart, life happened in between but we stayed in touch, always picking up where we left off. A love and friendship that knew no bounds.
I shall miss you, there's going to be a hole in me, a gap, never to be filled. Your passing will forever leave that BIG gap in my life. Irreplaceable!
Until that day should we ever meet again, I will be the other Jet Jungle, loving trees and remembering that special wonderful person who was a sister, friend and a bud, a genuine friend through the ages.
Lodge and family, Aunty Beryl and Johantie be blessed that Dale was with you, you had those everyday moments, those are the special times, lest they remain forever in your minds. A ray of light in an otherwise bleak world. Cheers and with Love Jogi

In the early days when we first met Dale, Jayne and Hayley had been in an aerobics competition and a group of us had gone for drinks after. Everyone was sitting around discussing aerobics and Dale was listening intently to the conversation, when she turned to Janine who had not said anything and said, 'So do you do aerobics?'. We laughed about that for years. 

That was just one of the first of many many amazing memories. The crazy parties, the laughter, the fun and of course the serious times, these are what made the memories so special. Dale will be so missed by everyone whose lives she touched. A very special soul.

Janice and Jayne
xxxxx

'Daley Bee'.....we were initially in each others lives as our parents were such good friends. However, our friendship grew through the years, growing up in Springs and seeing each other at least once a week...braais, weekends, squash, golf, holidays. I almost have no childhood memories without you in it! Almost every memory makes me smile. You were such a unique individual. Your sense of humour, caring attitude and ability to create a warm environment, are just a few things that come to mind. Our last conversation was to share a bottle of bubbles in celebration of my mom and your dad's lives......! Till we meet again....! Lindsay (Bock) Brand

Oh my….such intense sadness…

Dearest, sweetest Daisy

How much you enriched our lives, unknowingly most probably. How I wish I had told you how much you impacted mine. I had the good fortune of holidaying with you twice in your beloved South Africa and from the very moment we met, I knew I was in the company of someone so very special, genuine, kind and sincere.

The laughs started and never stopped. Nicknames were established at our first party…I landed the unfortunate name of Paddy ‘Singh’ because my passport pic resembled that of an Indian female (which you found quite amusing) and far removed from the indigenous New Zealander/Maori that I am! Plus I was quick to add that I did actually like to SING, and so it became Paddy Singh, sealed in stone in every reference from you to me, thereafter.
Dale was quickly converted to Daisy, and before long everything about you shone so much so, that a flowering Daisy on a beautiful Summer’s day was more than fitting for your new moniker and resonated you perfectly. You have always been Daisy to me. Turning to Johantie and keeping with the theme of ‘name-changing’ (with the encouragement of bucket loads of Bubbles), I slipped over the correct pronunciation and inadvertently blurted out ‘Aunty’. It received enough laughter from you that the third nickname in a matter of minutes had been created. Daisy and Aunty...a union of souls and a partnership adored by all of us.

You were always sending beautiful messages on birthdays, New Year, Xmas etc – not once would one of these holidays pass without a thought from you both. Not to mention the adhoc messages of “Missing you”, “sending our love”, “thinking of you”. You were always thinking of others Daisy but going by the many messages and dedications from your devoted and loving friends these past days, it is truly a measure of how much you were loved and of the extraordinary human being you were.

Thank you Daisy, for your friendship, for making my memories of beautiful South Africa so much more meaningful. I am so sad at the thought of never hearing from you or seeing you again as we so often discussed another gathering of the ‘knackers’. But my aching heart is filled with gratitude and thanks for hooking up with you on my own life journey…

May your new journey be one of peace and eternal sunshine dearest Daisy
Okioki i roto i te Aroha
Rest in Love Daisy xxxx

Dalie - Our Precious One
We did not realize we were making memories, we just knew we were all just having fun.
We used to laugh about the old days and the mischief and the crazy things we did.
But now you are missing and it breaks our hearts so bad.
You will forever live on in all our memories, and this will help us smile again.
Goodbyes are not forever, it simply means until we meet you again.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️