“Jonathan Hobday was an incredible community volunteer, we don’t have enough men and women like him,” says Chairman of Sub-Council 16, Matthew Kempthorne in tribute to the community stalwart.
Around 200 guests which included family, friends, community organisations and representatives of the Rondebosch Golf Club paid tribute to Mr Hobday in a memorial service at Rondebosch Golf Club on Wednesday February 12.
Mr Hobday, a former journalist and editor, a long-time golfer and community worker, passed away at 85 in December last year after battling cancer. He was a long-serving member of the Mowbray Community Policing Forum (CPF) and Rosebank Mowbray Civic Association (RMCA).(“Jonathan Hobday mourned by the community he served,” Southern Suburbs Tatler, December 17, 2024)
His family scattered his ashes on the greens at Rondebosch Golf Club last week, where as he has had a more than 70-year-long relationship. Golf is strong in his family as his late brother, Simon Hobday, and son, Justin Hobday, were professional golfers.
Justin Hobday thanked all the organisations for paying tribute to his father.
“The community around Rosebank and Cape Town had a special place in his heart, and Rondebosch Golf Club was his home away from home. Golf was a big part of his life, and the support given by the various community structures made a huge difference to the family,” he says.
Mr Kempthorne says Mr Hobday just wanted to make his community great without expecting any favours in return.
“He cared deeply about the community and if anything needed to be done, Jonathan would put his hand up and volunteer,” he said.
Former Cape Town mayor, Gordon Oliver was a long time friend of Mr Hobday.
“We used to meet on Tuesdays for coffee in Pinelands. He was a good man, who lived life to the full in service to others,” he says.
