Taking A Trip Down Memory Lane As Lives Are Celebrated at Mercy Place Mont Clare

International Day of Older Persons today, Tuesday 1 October will see not-for-profit aged care home at Mercy Place Mont Clare learn more about the lives of its residents.

Residents like 88-year-old Bill Murrell, who was born in Adelaide on 8 November 1930 and who moved to Perth in 1990 for what was a one year position at the Water Corp.  Almost 30 years later, he is still here!

Having undertaken his schooling at St Peter’s College in Adelaide, Bill went on to work at General Motors where he won a scholarship to study for two years in Flint, Michigan to what was then the General Motors Institute of Technology, now North Western University.

While based in the USA and undertaking his scholarship, he worked with the iconic brands Buick and Pontiac, at a time when General Motors was producing 240 cars a day.

“While I was studying, I was also lucky to travel across America, this was 1952 and I loved the place, it was extremely vibrant and I loved exploring the cities of San Francisco, Chicago, Florida and New York,” says Bill, who has written a book on his life.

“But it was also wonderful to return to Australia, where I ended up marrying a Perth girl, and settling in City Beach and Wembley for many years.

“I was very fortunate in that I enjoyed my career immensely and my advice to the younger generation is to decide what you want to do and don’t let anyone put you off.  Have integrity, be true to yourself and if you don’t like what you are doing in your job, make the change.”

Mercy Place Mont Clare Service Manager, Joan Lowney, said that International Day for Older Persons was a great opportunity for the Mercy Health team to come together and celebrate seniors.

“Today is the perfect day to celebrate our residents and let them know how much they mean to us, and also to hear their stories,” she says.

“Although they may be in their 80s or 90s, our residents’ continue to display inner vitality and our staff are committed to making sure they remain living lives of purpose and joy; they still have so much to offer and we are keen for them to continue to live full lives each and every day.”

The United Nations' (UN) International Day of Older Persons is celebrated annually on 1 October to recognise the contributions of older persons and to examine issues that affect their lives.

Find out more about Mercy Health.