Phuket’s “Great Mother 1999” announced

PHUKET: The best mum in Phuket is 67-year-old Sukanya Limsomboon, and that’s official. Khun Sukanya, who lives in Thanon Ranong in Phuket Town, has been chosen by the Bangkok-based Social Welfare Council to represent the island at a special ceremony on August 12, which is both HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday and Thai Mother’s Day. She was selected after her daughter-in-law put her name forward to the Social Welfare Council. “I was very surprised when they called me and asked me to go to Bangkok,” said Khun Sukanya. “And I was very happy when they told me that I had been selected from among all the others as Phuket’s Great Mother. I’m just a housewife.” Khun Sukanya lost her husband 27 years ago, and had to raise five children – three boys and two girls – on her own, putting them through college, from which all of them emerged with degrees. She also carried on running her husband’s general store and still found time to gain a reputation for helping out in the local community, especially at weddings and other celebrations, where she was in great demand for her cooking skills. She told the Gazette that her formula for bringing up her children was simple: Teach them to behave well and always to be an example for their younger brothers and sisters. Her eldest son, Dr Thawee Limsomboon, director of the Public and Environmental Division of Phuket Municipality, said he was very proud of his mother. “From a very early age she taught me patience and honesty,” he said, lessons which had stayed with him right through to the present day.