For Mother's day 8th of May 2011 - A tribute to my mom, Penny. Love you mom.

In Loving Memory of my mom, Penelope Hill (maiden name - Katsouris) – Born 09/04/1959 – 24/01/1999

Its mother’s day and I thought I would write something about my mom, Penny. My mom was born in Kwekwe on the 9th of April 1959. She sadly passed away on the 24th of January 1999 of Malaria.

Some of you may remember my mom, for those of you that never met her; I learnt a lot from my mother. She was a very happy person; she almost always had a smile on her face. She was intelligent; she got a lot of A’s and was head girl (I can’t remember if it was in junior school or high school) and she was also wise. She had such a love for people; she cared deeply about her friends and family and not just her friends and family but all people. She always wanted to help and do things for other people. She lived her life doing what she could to help others. She had an amazing faith in God and together with my dad they and brought up my sister Christina and I up as Christians. My mom was the kind of person who would walk in to a room and the whole room would light up because she had such a wonderful way about her.

I remember her flower arranging in our garden with our gardener in Zimbabwe. She had a talent for flower arranging and she’d do flowers for weddings and functions and our church events. My grandmother could also flower arrange really well and I’m not sure she may have even taught my mom how to do it. I remember picking a few flowers and attempting to flower arrange too. I remember my gardener who was with us all our time in Zimbabwe and he said something along the lines of my mother was really special and taught him to flower arrange and he never forgot it and he even started his own flower arranging and sold a few.

One thing I’ll never forget is her laugh; she had such a beautiful laugh that just makes you want to smile. In one of our family videos you hear her laugh when a baboon had come on our houseboat in Kariba and my grandparents were the only ones on the boat because we had been out fishing and you just hear my mom laughing.

I copied and pasted what some people have said and what I have said about her (on her group I created in memory of her on facebook) to show the kind person she was and it says it best. Here they are below.

“Your mom was someone who warmed the lives of everyone around her - touched the hearts and souls of many. She was the most unselfish, kind, warm and beautiful human being. Always had time for everyone. She was a special friend and I will always cherish the memories of the times we spent together. She will always remain in our hearts.”

“Your Mom was beautiful, both inside and out. My Dad still remembers what a lovely child she was and smiles when her name is mentioned, even after all these years.”

“I remember your mom so well she was very special.”

“Your mom touched so many lives, she was always giving.”

“Your mom was such a special person and a role model to all of us.”

“Your Mom was the most amazing & loving friend and I was so blessed to have her in my life - such a privilege. She was so filled with God's amazing love and touched so many people's lives with her kindness and thoughtfulness. She was such an example. Such a great loss and I miss her greatly and she will never be forgotten.”

“Nicola your Mom was a very special person. She is often in our prayers and thoughts.”

“Precious friend, never forgotten.”

Nicola Hill: “It seems she's touched a lot of lives and left a special impression with a lot of people, I am blessed I had a mom like that.”

Nicola Hill: “She was definitely taken from us too soon but managed to do so much for people in her short time. Yes she will always be in our hearts forever. ”

I think all of that speaks for itself. I was so touched by all the lovely things everyone wrote about my mom. She was a wonderful person all round. What my mom left me was her wonderful example of how to treat people and how every person is important.

Someone wrote this “The best lady to ever walk the earth :).”

And one of her friends wrote this. “She was the best lady to ever walk the earth - what a privilege and blessing it was to be part of her life.”

My mom, along with my grandmother who also did a lot for people showed me the beauty of kindness, the beauty of giving with your whole heart.

It’s not about what you get in this life but it’s about what you give.

My sister and I miss our mom and so do all who knew her. I remember something my sister was telling me about a month ago. She said Nicola I have been thinking about mom a lot recently and she'd been thinking of our mom because my mom’s birthday was coming up on the 9th of April. And this is a quote Christina came up with because my godfather Nick (my mom’s brother) said we are both following in our mom’s footsteps my travelling. ‎"Everything happens for a reason - this one's for you mom :)." ~ Christina Hill (Penny’s younger daughter).

Someone said to me “She was truly amazing, and as I told you, you are just like her.” A lot of the reason I am the way I am today and a lot of the views I have today are from my mom. God brought out the best version of my mom. She was herself; she was who she was meant to me. She didn’t try to copy anyone; she just was the same Penny always. She had incredible faith in God, in people and in herself.

Someone else said to me, “Your mom is looking down on you and I am sure she is beaming with pride.” I think she is looking down on all of us with a big smile on her face.

To the most wonderful person I ever knew, to the most wonderful friend, to the most wonderful mother, I love you, I miss you and I think about you always. Thank God that I had you in my life and in the time you were here, you touched my life and many others because you showed everyone one very special thing, “LOVE.”

Written by Nicola Hill (Penny’s oldest daughter.)