Resident Stories

Graham and Lorraine O’Dell feel right at home in retirement, but it doesn’t mean they’ve had time for life to slow down.

A tree falling in a storm made Pat Pierson see life very differently. It also resulted in her packing up her home of 59 years and returning to her birthplace. She says she couldn’t be happier with the change

For Laurel and Ben Hall, their home has always been their pride and joy, and it’s the same in retirement.

For Beverly and Graham Bryant, it was love at first sight and it led to a lifetime of wonderful memories. Now in retirement, they are loving their most recent move.

Having spent almost all her life in the bush, Rhonda White is no stranger to putting the kettle on when someone ‘blows in’. Now in retirement and living amongst new friends, that kettle is still getting a workout.

The eldest of five children, Kerri was born in Sydney and loved her lively family life in the suburb of Windsor.

At age 13, her dad, a pharmacist, took a new job in Canberra so the family moved to live there. Kerri loved that too. However, after finishing school the call to follow in her father’s footsteps was so strong, she returned to Sydney to study pharmacy at university.

When Shirley Stainton heard her neighbours and good friends were moving to a new house, she decided she and her husband should too.

Born in Mildura, Victoria in 1935, Shirley is the youngest of six children. With four brothers and one sister, she lived in a very busy household. She completed her primary and secondary schooling in Mildura and then found a job in a local pharmacy.

When they first met, Barbara didn’t think much of Keith, but having just celebrated 53 years of marriage, it proves first impressions can sometimes be very wrong.

Born and bred in Gunnedah, Keith Constable was one of five children in his family raised on a property some 65 kilometres away at a little place by the name of Colly Blue. His dad was a shearer and great horseman; Keith’s dad also had a great love of the land. It turns out Keith is very much a chip off the ol’ block!

How did a wee Scottish lass born in 1944 come to find herself knitting jumpers and more and loving life in Warwick, Queensland in 2019?

Rosemary Rasanen is that lass who journeyed to Australia by ship at seven years of age for what was meant to be a six-year stay. Her father was in the British Army and received a transfer to the Australian Army – it was certainly a very exciting time for the family. So, Rosemary with her mother, father, two sisters and one brother bid a fond farewell to their Celtic homeland.

Happy hours, barbeques and parties, holidays together – these activities are usually reserved for those young in years, but in this case they are just some of the things that are keeping this wonderful group of friends young at heart.