03/12/2024
Happy 100th birthday to Mary today!! 🥳
This very special lady has experienced a century of living, and what a life she’s lived.
Mary was born in Alexandria Egypt to a Maltese father & Italian mother. She moved to the Suez Canal at 15 where she started working in the telephone exchange for the army. This is where she met her husband who was a British solider stationed in Egypt as WWII was ending. They were married in 1947 and eventually Mary moved to her husband’s native Yorkshire, UK. She enjoyed the Yorkshire lifestyle immensely and stayed for 12 years before begrudgingly immigrating to Australia where her parents had settled after the recent upheaval in Egypt. Once in Melbourne she got to work immediately finding work in local factories. By 1962 they’d saved enough money to build a modest home in Fawkner, which was surrounded by bushland & kangaroos at that time (now amongst densely populated suburbia). That is where Mary has lived contentedly ever since. Unfortunately her dear husband passed 22 years ago, but he’s resting in the cemetery about 500m away so she still feels close. Mary has one daughter who visits every Saturday and a wonderful team of regular carers who support her with personal care & shopping.
Mary can speak Italian, French, Greek & Egyptian, though she mainly uses English nowadays. Mary is the first to admit, life is not without its significant challenges, though if you keep waking up and tackling the day ahead you’ll be ok. Mary is a real inspiration and deserves celebrating on this very special occasion!
Mary’s beauty tip…
Someone recently asked her age and couldn’t believe when she said 99…. they thought she was 80. They wanted to know the secret face cream (elixir) that she uses. Her reply was simple…. soap & water my dear 😆💕
