Gail Anne Pegg

Gail Anne Pegg: 31 October 1943 – 31 July 2014

Much younger siblings

Gail was the elder of my two sisters. Her stormy relationship with our father was to affect all of her relationships with men and she spent the last years of her life living alone. Growing up, we used to fight incessantly but the roots of sibling love and respect were well established.

Gail always lived life on her own terms. If I were to dedicate a song to her memory it would be “I did it my way”. For many years she ran her own medical aid brokerage business from home and when the time came, she made the move to selling property. She was a respected agent and was held in high esteem by both her colleagues and her clients. She was the champion of the underdog and always spoke up fearlessly against injustice. Although never financially comfortable she regularly donated to charity and was always there to help the less fortunate. It was part of her humanity that she felt great empathy for others.

She was extremely technologically challenged. I have lost count of the number of times she would say “Won’t you have a look at my computer? It’s…”, “My internet isn’t working, what’s wrong?”, “I can’t record my soapies. Please have a look…”, “My TV picture is gone”, “Why does my phone…”. She never remembered passwords and whenever we needed one to fix something she would scratch through books and papers and drawers looking for a hint. I must confess that I often became irritated with her helpless phone calls, muttering under my breath the whole time I was assisting her with her latest electronic problem.

Saturday mornings

Saturday mornings were when we would spend time together. She always ensured that she had beers for me and we would sit on her little patio discussing life, politics, religion and relationships (and the neighbors). She was very proud of her tiny garden and was very offended by neighborhood cats pooing in her pot-plants. Her tiny rose bush was her special pride and she used to talk to it to encourage it to keep its occasional bloom until I had seen and smelt it. I used to tease her and tell her that it was the most depressed looking rose bush I had ever seen. She would also chase the pigeons away from the bird seed she put out because they were “too pushy and arrogant”.

Family and friends were the most important things in her life. She was fiercely loyal and didn't care if you were right or wrong; if you were one of “hers” you had her full and unconditional support. She was good at reading personalities and used her numbers to gain insights into people. Friends and colleagues alike would approach her to ask what sort of trends their numbers indicated and to get her take on their relationships. She always gave of her time and energy selflessly.

The alcove under the stairs where she had her computer was also where she honored all those who were significant in her life. Dozens of photos lined the walls there – important people in her life, milestones achieved (hers and others) and happy events remembered. Some photos went back many years and all had a story.

During her illness she was unfailingly positive. Although angry and irritated at her loss of mobility and independence she found the positive and the good in the difficult circumstances. She was happy to be able to see the inherent goodness and caring of the people around her. She was deeply moved by all the expressions of love from so many and she was gratified and a little amazed to see just how many people truly cared for her. I believe it made her passing easier to know that her life had positively affected so many other lives.

Our Saturday morning discussions included talking about death and I know she had absolutely no fear of death. She knew that the death of this body was a natural part of living and was not to be feared. She said that she wanted to be the first one to go so that she wouldn't have to deal with the grief of losing a loved one. She had a horror of becoming a “burden” and often said she would rather leave the planet than become a problem for her loved ones. She ceaselessly worked at understanding and bettering herself and achieving her own high levels of integrity and goodness. She often said that she would love to soar like an eagle, high above the earth. 

I believe that she is now doing that.