I'VE BEEN SO BLESSED

Penny Coelen-Rey, SA’s first Miss World, opens up about losing her son and husband, the joy of family and the start of a new chapter

-  JANA VAN DER MERWE

IT’S been more than six decades since she was crowned the most beautiful woman in the world and she’s been out of the limelight for some time since. Yet when she’s out and about she’s still recognised by those who saw her being crowned as South Africa’s first Miss World.

“People still ask me for autographs all these years later,” Penny Coelen-Rey (81) tells YOU.

We’re catching up with her at the Zululami Luxury Coastal Estate near Ballito Bay. She’s been living alone at a nearby eco estate for the past 16 months but will move to the Coral Cove retirement facility being built at Zululami when it’s done.

“I have a lovely home but living on my own is not much fun,” Penny says.

Her husband, Micky, died in 2019 after battling cancer and dementia. They were married for nearly 59 years.

She’s looking forward to moving to the retirement village. “It will be like living in a residential area, but you have the security of frail care, dementia care and a community centre with restaurants, a coffee shop and a pool.

“My friends will also come live there and life will carry on for you when you don’t know who you are,” she says with a chuckle. Then on a more sombre note, “You don’t know when that will happen to you.”

SHE’S had a full and happy life – but also had to deal with plenty of sorrow. The former beauty queen, a mom of five and grandmother to 15, lived on a sugarcane farm on the north coast of KwaZuluNatal when her kids were growing up.