Kimberley, South Africa

Joseph (nee Horwitz), Pamela

Joseph, Pamela (nee Horwitz)

Pamela Horwitz, beloved aunt of Kimberley Jewish Community Chairman Barney Horwitz, died in June 2017. She was born on 7 January 1926. Her parents, Barney and Polly Horwitz lived for many years at the prestigious address of 9 Lodge Road Kimberley. Her first outing was her naming ceremony in the Kimberley Shul on the 9th January when the Rev H. Isaacs named her Tovah bat reb Benzion.

Clever and beautiful, Pamela met and fell in love with Phillip Joseph, a dapper RAF trainee who was sent to Kimberley during WW2 (see Joseph, Philip). Before long they were engaged and married in the Kimberley Shul in September 1947 (see wedding picture).

They went to live in Johannesburg where together they opened their first bookshop Exclusive Books in Hillbrow in 1951. The couple had three sons Jonathan, in property in London, Richard in the book chain with Philip in the UK and Jeremy an ophthalmologist in London. The picture was taken at her last outing to her grandson Paul's (son of Jonathan) engagement party in London, which she enjoyed immensely shortly before her death in June 2017.

Philip and Pamela went on to found the Exclusive Books chain in South Africa which reached close to 50 bookshops. After relocating to the UK in 1981, Philip with son Richard, then founded ‘Books Etc’ with his son Richard opening more than 40 stores before selling these to US chain Borders in 1997.

Pam was a wonderfully warm, wise and knowledgeable person and a dearly beloved aunt to Barney and his sister Brenda and cousins Mark, Shawn, Gary and Robyn in the U.S. and their families. Sadly, for the past several years Pam was badly afflicted with Alzheimer’s.

A tribute to Pam was made in the Kimberley Shul, (of which she remained a member all her life) after Simchas Torah had gone out in

2017