Palesa Mmamosa Mokoena
Premium memorialLovingly known as “Matron Pa”
30 March 1951 — 3 April 2024 · aged 73
Baragwanath maternity matron who welcomed half of Soweto into the world
Soweto, South Africa Born in Witsieshoek, Free State Resting at Avalon Cemetery, SowetoAbout Palesa
She rarely went anywhere in Soweto without being greeted by a stranger holding a baby and saying, 'Matron, you delivered me,' or, increasingly, 'Matron, you delivered my mother.' Palesa Mokoena always smiled and asked whether they had eaten.
Born in Witsieshoek in 1951 to a Sesotho-speaking family, Palesa was the daughter of a domestic worker who walked fourteen kilometres each way to a white household in Harrismith. At eighteen she travelled to Johannesburg to train at Baragwanath Hospital's nursing college, and she started on the wards in 1973. She would remain at what became Chris Hani Baragwanath for thirty-eight years, becoming a staff nurse, a sister in the neonatal unit, and Matron of the maternity wing from 1990.
She was on duty on the night of 16 June 1976, when the casualty ward filled with hundreds of injured schoolchildren. She never spoke of it afterwards, except to say that the nurses did not ask whose children they were. She studied for a diploma in nursing administration at the University of the Witwatersrand in the early 1980s, and mentored hundreds of student nurses, many of whom still send her cards on Matron's Day.
She married Jacob Mokoena in 1975 and raised two children in Orlando West, in a house with a green gate that every neighbourhood child knew. She was a lifelong Orlando Pirates supporter, loved samp and beans with a good gravy, sang alto in the choir at Regina Mundi, and kept a garden of marigolds that neighbours called the matron's border.
Matron Pa died peacefully at home in April 2024, after a short illness. She leaves her son, her daughter, her sister Mpho, and seven grandchildren.
“A baby does not ask whose child it is. Neither should a nurse.”
- Faith
- Christian
- Place of birth
- Witsieshoek, Free State
- Resting place
- Avalon Cemetery, Soweto
- Passed away
- 3 April 2024, Soweto
Memorial Service & Burial
Wednesday, 10 April 2024 at 08:00 UTC
Add to calendarMemorial fund
Matron Pa Student Nurses' Bursary
Fund bursaries for student nurses from Soweto, in the name of the woman who mentored four hundred of them.
$2,655.25 raised of $5,000
53%16 recent contributions
- AR
Antonella Lasorsa Ricci gave $47.50 · 2y ago
“With love, always.”
- PK
Peter Kiprotich gave $190 · 2y ago
“Pole sana to the family.”
- AN
Anonymous gave $190 · 2y ago
“With love, always.”
- SA
Sheikh Salim Abdalla gave $95 · 2y ago
“From the church choir.”
- LM
Lerato Molefe gave $47.50 · 2y ago
“God comfort you all.”
Life journey
Nursing Diploma
Baragwanath Hospital Nursing College1969 – 1973 · Soweto
Trained at one of the busiest hospitals in the southern hemisphere.
Staff Nurse, Neonatal Sister, Matron of Maternity
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital1973 – 2011 · Soweto
Matron of the maternity wing from 1990.
Married Jacob Mokoena
1975 – 2008 · Soweto
A marriage of thirty-three years.
Diploma in Nursing Administration
University of the Witwatersrand1982 – 1984 · Johannesburg
Studied part-time while working night shifts.
Mentor to Student Nurses
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital1990 – 2011 · Soweto
Mentored more than four hundred student nurses.
Nursing Excellence Award
Gauteng Department of Health2005 · Johannesburg
For distinguished service in maternal care.
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Family & connections
Palesa is survived by
- Karabo Mokoena· Daughter
- Thabo Mokoena· Son
- Mpho Letsie· Sister
- 7 grandchildren· Grandchildren
Tributes & memories
6 people have shared a memory of Palesa.
Knew Palesa? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- KM
Daughter
Mama rarely said, 'I love you.' She said, 'Have you eaten?' I now say it to my own children every day, and I hope they hear what she meant. Thank you to everyone who has remembered her so generously.
- TM
Fellow Orlando Pirates supporter
She never missed a Soweto derby and she never forgave a loss. In 2011 she swore at the television in Sesotho so beautifully that her whole living room applauded. Rest well, Matron Pa. Ke Bucs, ke Bucs.
- TN
Fellow nurse and friend of fifty years
We took our nursing oaths on the same morning in 1973 and shared an overcrowded room in the nurses' home. Palesa could sleep through anything except a baby's cry. I am heartbroken, and grateful to have had her all my life.
- MK
Neighbour, Orlando West
Her green gate was always open to the children. In winter she left a pot of soup on the stove for any child who knocked. She said she could not be a matron at work and a stranger at home. Soweto has lost a mother.
- LM
Student nurse she mentored
She kept a bar of Sunlight soap in her pocket and would sniff our hands on rounds. If they smelled of nothing, we passed. We laughed about it and then washed our hands for the rest of our careers. Thank you, Matron.
- DS
Paediatrician, trained under Matron Pa
As a junior doctor I once panicked over a premature baby at three in the morning. Matron Pa laid a hand on my shoulder and said, 'Breathe, doctor. Now we work.' That baby is a teenager now. I think of her whenever I need to be calm.