Doreen Celebrates 100 Years

Work on your friendships and family, live life to the full and enjoy it as much as you can… these are the life lessons of Doreen, who turned 100 on the 24th of August. 

Doreen is a Home Care client who lives with her daughter and son-in-law in North Turramurra. Doreen has received Home Care from Catholic Healthcare for the last three years and is full of praise for the care workers in her life like Diane, Elizabeth and Louise.

“Catholic Healthcare are so good to me, very kind, and Diane is the most comforting person,” says Doreen.

“She helps me get ready for the day, does ironing or mending, and is great for a chat. She has even done my nails for my party this weekend.” 

Doreen was born in 1919 in Lilyfield, the inner west of Sydney.

“I left school at 15 and got an apprenticeship with Miss Potter’s Headwear on Clarence St. I met my husband, Leslie, and we married young when we were both 19. I had to leave work but I was always creative. I continued to sew and loved cooking.”

Being 100, Doreen acknowledges she has seen a lot of changes over the years.

“I remember the Sydney Harbour Bridge opening and the day they announced the end of World War Two. They rang the church bells, everyone was dancing in the street and the children were sent home from school. I’ve seen it all, the telephone, television, microwaves, computers, mobile phones and the internet.”

Doreen loves to listen to Bob Rogers and Chris Kearns on 2CH so her daughter has arranged for a special birthday message to be read out this weekend. Doreen’s sideboard at home is also full of birthday cards including a card from HRH The Queen, the Prime Minister of Australia, the Governor General, and the Premier of NSW.

“I’ve had a very fortunate life. Leslie and I were married for 68 happy years, we had great friends and we travelled a lot together. We have two children, four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren who all live nearby.

“The only regrets I have are not travelling to Russia and never going to university. I would have liked to be fluent in another language and to have studied English or History.

“It’s all about family now,” says Doreen. “My family keeps me going.”

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Pictured: Louise, Doreen & Diane