Pam Golding: a South African property icon remembered
National property icon Pam Golding (nee Stroebel), who died on April 3, was the sister of legendary Plett resident Barry Stroebel, 93 – Timothy Twidle reports
Barry Stroebel’s son, Chris, and his spouse, Pippa, are proprietors of The Lookout Deck and Equinox – two of the town’s most popular eateries.
Barry, Chris, and Pippa shared some of their fondest memories of Pam Golding with CXPRESS last Sunday.
Barry recalls: “My father, Henry, was a teacher at Grey College in Port Elizabeth, and sometime after he and my mother, Leila, married they moved to Mthatha [then called ‘Umtata] in the Eastern Cape, where my father taught Afrikaans at Umtata High School.
“Pam was born there and myself, Pam, and our sibling Denyse underwent our primary education in Umtata, in an army drill hall that doubled as a classroom! We had a wonderful childhood in Umtata with lots of camping holidays on the Wild Coast.”
After primary schooling in Umtata, Pam went on to Collegiate Girls High School in Port Elizabeth. “She was very good at all sports,” says Barry, “but she was also very musical and loved dancing.”
In 1953, Pam married Cecil Golding, a scion of one of Cape Town’s best families, who had served with distinction in the South African Air Force during World War ll.
She worked for a spell with the South African financial conglomerate Syfrets, prior to branching out on her own.
What was to eventually become Pam Golding Properties – a byword for quality in the South African real estate – began in 1976 in the garage of the cottage that Pam and Cecil occupied at that time in Kent Road, in Cape Town’s Newlands suburb.
The rest is history; a business school case study of unbridled success.
Chris remembers his aunt well: “She had a magnetic personality – she always had a twinkle in her
eye and a ready smile. She made everyone feel special and important.
“In her company one had her undivided attention, and she never forgot a face or a name. She was able to network with people of whatever background with consummate skill.
“Pam had a personality that was ideally suited to the business of property. If she read in the newspaper that someone intended to move to another part of the country, she would telephone that person and enthuse: I have the very property that you need!’ She just had that ability.”
Among her many, many friends Pam Golding counted Nelson Mandela, Graca Machel, and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu – who officiated at the memorial service that was held in her honour at Saint Georges Cathedral in Cape Town on April 10, which Chris attended.
In unison, Barry, Chris, and Pippa agree that Pam was truly a special person. She was unique and her legacy will be the brilliant interpersonal skills, the flair and the warmth of her personality, all of which she infused into her business.
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