Where She Came From
Margaret Nontombi Phokwane was born on the 31st of July 1947 in Masakeng, Rockville, the third of four sisters. Her parents, Solomon Hanyane Mfolo and Mary Zayi Mfolo (born Dulaze), raised their daughters in a home where love was not a luxury but the foundation of everything.
In 1953 the family settled in Killarney, Orlando West. Margaret attended Mooki Primary School in Orlando East and went on to Matseke High School, where she completed her JC Certificate in 1967. She was proud of that education and carried it with her always.
A Home She Built
Margaret married Johannes Meletse, known to everyone as Stompie, in 1969. They had two children together: Ann and Modikoe. She poured herself into that home completely. When Stompie passed away tragically in 1976, she was left to hold the family together on her own, and she did exactly that.
She had already been working at Checkers, and she kept working. In 1978 she met Peter Mudau, and they welcomed a son, Thabang. Three children, different chapters, one mother who never let any of them feel anything less than loved.
Your love, kindness and wisdom will forever remain in our hearts.
Her Own Table
In the mid-1980s, Margaret started a catering business. She catered for Anchor Comprehensive High School, feeding teachers and learners day in and day out. She became so known for it that the phrase ngiyo thenga iset became part of the school's rhythm. Everyone knew where they were going.
The business was hers. She built it herself, ran it herself, and sustained it for years until she retired. She showed her children what independence looked like. She showed them that a woman could create something from her own hands and stand behind it with dignity.
Matriarch, Grandmother, Beloved
“Manke” · “Gogo” · “Nto”
To her grandchildren she was Gogo, and that name carried everything. She held babies, kept an eye on the older ones, fed whoever arrived at her door, and remained the fixed point around which the family turned. The lounge with the waterfall painting. The smell of her cooking. The sound of her voice.
In her final years her health declined, but her presence never did. Family came to sit with her, to be near her, to hold her hand. She passed on the 10th of June 2026, at the age of 78, surrounded by those who loved her most.
She is survived by her husband Peter, her eldest sister, her three children Ann, Modikoe and Thabang, six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. A life fully lived. A family endlessly loved. A woman who will not be forgotten.
Well done, good and faithful servant. — Matthew 25:23
