In loving memory of
Bubile Grace Siamwiinga
1948 to 2026
She brought half of Monze into the world, and remembered every name.
Her life, in photographs
1948 – 2026
Seventy-eight years
A few of the photographs the family keeps in the tin under her bed.
The fifties
1956
The eldest of six, and already the one who held the little ones’ hands.
The sixties
1966
First in her class, and the first girl from the farm to go away to train as a nurse.
The seventies
1974
She married Hachizo Siamwiinga at the mission church, in a dress her mother sewed.
The eighties
1983
Midwife on the night ward. Some of the babies she delivered now have babies of their own.
The nineties
1995
Three children grown, and a Sunday table that never had an empty chair.
The last years
2022
Eleven grandchildren, and a story saved for each of them.
The farewell
Saying goodbye
Saturday, 7 November 2026
Ten o’clock
One o’clock
From three
The gathering after
The family home
Plot 22, Lusaka Road, Monze
DressWhite, or the soft colours she wore.
In place of flowers, the family asks that you bring a story about her to share at the house.
Words for her
From those who knew her
She trained me on the night ward and never once raised her voice. I still hear her in every delivery room.
Sister Agnes, who trained beside her
Every Christmas she knew which of us had grown, and by how much.
Her grandson Mwiinga
She delivered me, and thirty years later she delivered my daughter.
A neighbour on Lusaka Road
Will you attend?
So that the family can prepare for everyone who comes to say goodbye.
Rest now, Mama. Your work was long, and it was done well.
The Siamwiinga family
Monze · Lusaka · Choma