BLYTH, Marjorie Sophia (May)

   Other names for Marjorie were BLYTH, Marjorie Sophia and BLYTH, Marjory Sophia.

  Events

• Historical. May had a great friend also a school teacher and this is a story told by a relative:My grandfather, Matthys Johan de Jager * 1872 told my mother about this Miss Cummings and how she died. She had her death outfit (shroud?) made and kept this in a hat-box which she then put on top of an huge clothes-cupboard in her bedroom. To do this she had to make use of a chair. Nearly every day she climbed onto the chair, took the hat-box down and spread the shroud out on her bed! This was to make sure that everything was in good order without any moths etc. And of course to medidate about the life hereafter. And then disaster struck! One day when she got onto the chair and was struggling to remove the hat-box with her thin and weakened arms (she was very lean) the chair tipped over and she had one mighty fall! The lady of the house found her on the floor, the doctor came and she was put in bed, but she never recovered and died the next days or several days later. But as she intended, no one had to struggle to get a shroud, she had hers with her in the room! Apparently my grandfather never blinked an eye when he told this story, and the kids didn't know whether they could laugh or not -- so they never laughed!

• Alt Name. On her mothers Death Notice May writes her own name as Marjory Sophie Blyth, but according to her father's DN MOOC KAB 6/9/655 Ref 3113 she was already known as May.

• Residence. On her mother's Death Notice (26 Mar 1938) their resided at 43 Bird St. Beaufort West.

• Historical.
Robert Blyth recounts:-
Marjorie (May) BLYTH never married and spent her whole life in Beaufort West. She shared a house in Bird Street with her sister Gladys. I met her and her sister in Beaufort West in 1968 shortly after my mother died. There was mention that they had taught my mother at one time but I do not have any details. They were two very gracious ladies.