Juliette Raftopoulos dies

succumbed to breast cancer at her home in Avondale on Wednesday. The 60-year-old had been suffering from the disease for the past 20 years. The former administrator was involved in the running of local basketball from 1970 up to 2000. She was the founder-member of Arcadia Bucs and was also involved with schools as an organiser, among them Chisipite and Prince Edward School.
Raftopoulos worked alongside her husband Kimon who was the national chairman of BUZ in the late 1980s up to the early 1990s. Kimon said yesterday that his wife’s death came as a relief as she had suffered from breast cancer for quite a long time.
“It’s been a relief after all the pain she endured very quietly. She was an inspiration to many young people, youths of all nationalities. She got into basketball in 1970 and she stopped in 2000.
“She held various posts and was also in the Mashonaland Basketball Association. She was the secretary-general of BUZ and travelled with many teams (in and outside the country) for different competitions. She went to Mozambique and North Korea for the Youth Games as a coach and representative for Zimbabwe,” said Kimon.
Her son, Creon, described his mother as a loving person with a big heart.
“We spoke to some of the players she worked with who described her as a special lady who was not just a coach but a mother-figure. She was an inspiration to everyone guiding people to their careers. In times of change, she never saw colour, our house was open to everyone . . . She would drive around with my black friends in her car.
“She took basketball to the townships. We travelled to Mabvuku, Chitungwiza and Dzivarasekwa,” said Creon.
Creon, who is a professional basketball coach in the United Kingdom, said his mother was his inspiration.
“I am a coach of a professional basketball team, the Guildford Heat, and my role was paved by her. She was my inspiration. I played for Zimbabwe and sometimes there were highs and lows when you got selected into the team or not but she kept me going. During her sickness, she insisted that I stay with the team and that’s how strong she was. She thought of everybody beside herself. She was just special,” said Creon.
Zimbabwe Olympic Committee president, Admire Masenda, who worked with Juliette Raftopoulos when she was still into basketball, described the late administrator as a dedicated individual.
“It’s a very sad lose for the basketball family. She was quite a pillar in the basketball fraternity. At one point she was the chairperson for Mashonaland Basketball Association and a national coach. Her whole life revolved around basketball and later she coached in schools. Her contribution was immense and even today some of the women in sport went through her hands.
“She coached my wife and even travelled together for North Korean Youth Games at some point.
“She was such an aspiration and dedicated person. When we got into basketball, they were the two people we knew (Juliette and Kimon) and even now, when they had retired, we felt their absence.
“I worked with Juliette for about 10 years and surely we will miss her and as a mother she will be missed. I think she played her part in the development of basketball in this country,” Masenda said.
Juliette’s body will be cremated this afternoon at the Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant. She is survived by her husband Kimon and two children, Creon and Reno.