The Daily Show host and comedian Trevor Noah is in mourning. His grandmother Frances "Gogo" Noah (95) died and was buried recently.
Trevor celebrated her life with a tribute on social media.
“This morning our family laid to rest the oldest member of our clan Frances Noah, or as most of us referred to her, Gogo,” Trevor wrote.
“My grandmother was born in 1927 and even though she was 95 years old, she still had the best memory of us all. Every moment spent with her felt like a magical journey through time where she would recount all of the family’s greatest joys, losses, achievements, and milestones.”
Trevor recalls the warmth of his gogo’s home in Soweto.
“Her house in Soweto wasn’t just a home, it was a refuge, a place where other women would come when they had no other place to go, a place where members of the community would gather to pray together every single week, a place where everyone was guaranteed to feel the love emanating from her mighty chest. I know many of you grew to love Gogo from afar and I thank you for the condolences and the blessings you’ve sent in her memory.”
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Before concluding his tribute, Noah thanked fans "for the condolences and the blessings" they've sent his way.
“I’ve cried all week celebrating the greatest “movie” I’ve ever watched. A story that began with my first breath and ended with her last. A woman who showed me the truest definition of unconditional love. She passed away peacefully in her sleep and even blessed us with one final Mother’s Day which she enjoyed to the fullest. Hamba Kahle Gogo."
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In 2018 during his Self-Deportation Edition on The Daily Show, Trevor showed viewers a snippet of his life before becoming the host of the Comedy Central late-night show and visited his grandmother’s house in Soweto. He spoke to his grandmother about Apartheid and Nelson Mandela, giving a tour of the home he grew up in.
“You were one of my grandchildren. I always look at your photograph and say, morning Trevor.”
Describing how her generation marveled over Mandela being an attorney, Trevor’s grandmother described how their job choices were limited.
“He (Mandela) was just like our God on earth. Nursing, teaching, and policeman were the jobs for a black men. So, it was a wonder even for Mandela.”
She shared how fearful everyone was of the police.
“Each and every street had a flying squad. We used to get a knock at 3 am. We used to call them blackjacks.”
While many believed the economy would be better if things went back to the days of Apartheid, Trevor’s grandmother disagreed.
“No thank you. It wouldn’t be better. Do you know what it's like to dig for potatoes with your hands, no pay? If someone dies, you dig a hole for them and carry-on planting potatoes.”
Trevors’ grandmother shared how a mixed-race child was taboo when he was growing up.
“There were kids who never knew what a white man was, and they thought you were white, and they ran away. It was the first time they see a white man in the location. You were energetic and very naughty.”
