Cyril Arnold Loyd Vermooten was born in South Africa on July 3, 1929. He grew up with an older brother, Lawrence, and with both his parents. His father taught him to play rugby. He grew up attending church with his family and playing checkers with his friends. His favorite subject as a youngster was math.

As a young adult, he continued an interest in math and additionally enjoyed engineering and drawing. He studied parasitology and microbiology at Natal college, which set him on the path conducting important research in places like Kroonstad, Vanderbijlpark and Eshowe.

It was in Eshowe that Vermooten met Joy, his would-be wife. The two were married in March 1954 in Durban and had three children: Ian, Linda and Graham.

He later started a program called “Living Free” with Joy, which taught people aged 50 and higher to develop dreams and visions for the rest of their lives.

Vermooten and Joy came to Springfield to follow Linda, who was working in the States. He described his Springfield experience as a positive one.

Listen to FOG’s audio production of Vermooten’s story by tapping the link in our bio.

__________________________________________________________________________

Read all of Vermooten's story and the rest of the Ethnic Life Stories Project stories by clicking here.

Follow Friends of the gardens on social media! We post park events, promos, and announcements of new ELSTOT releases on our Facebook and Instagram.

Find out more about Friends of the Garden by visiting our website, friendsofthegarden.org.

Interested in supporting the 501(c)3 nonprofit that maintains and enhances the gardens and trails at the Springfield Botanical Gardens? Find out more by clicking here.

Music is Bach Cello Suite no. 3 by Colin Carr from the Free Music Archive.

Episodes are edited, recorded, mixed, and published by Diana Dudenhoeffer.