1986, she was elected as Honorary President of the Food and Allied Workers' Union. They returned from exile in 1990. Personal life Ray Alexander married Eli Weinberg when Eli was the acting Secretary to the local committee of the South African Trades and Labour Council. They separated on 2 May 1940. In 1941, she married Jack Simons, a lecturer at the University of Cape Town and a fellow communist. They had three children: Mary, Tanya and Johan. She died in Cape Town on 12 September 2004 at the age of 91. Award and legacy She was awarded the Isitwalandwe Medal in 2004 by the African National Congress. Ray Alexander Simons Memory Centre and Heritage Square in Guguletho was built and launched by Deputy President of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlante on 6 November 2010. In March 2011, the country of Sierra Leone issued a postage stamp in her honor, naming her as one of the Legendary Heroes of Africa. References External links Milton Shain and Miriam Pimstone, Ray Alexander (Simons), Jewish Women Encyclopedia South African women in politics 1914 births 2004 deaths South African Communist Party politicians Jewish South African politicians Jewish socialists Latvian emigrants to South Africa