Pamela and Peter Morris always knew their 63-year long marriage was made of fabric that would stand the test of time.
After all, both worked in the same laboratory at a fabric manufacturing facility – he testing the dyes and she testing the fabric strength.
And now 85-year-old Pamela, who lives at Uniting AgeWell Andrew Kerr Care Community, can look back on a life of love, laughter and travel.
And even though her beloved Peter passed away two years ago, Pamela has spent the last 15 months at the Mornington Peninsula aged care facility where she has made friends and enjoys her days doing arts and crafts and keeping busy and purposeful. Her two daughters, Julie and Catherine, also visit her a lot.
“It feels like home here,” she says. “Everyone is very friendly and helpful.”
So where did it all start for Pamela? She was born in Daylesford and moved to Wangaratta where she was a pupil at the same school as Peter. Later they worked in the same laboratory and eventually Peter left to do compulsory National Service with the Reserve Army.
When he returned, Peter, who grew up on a farm, joined a company selling agricultural machinery. His job entailed travelling overseas a great deal. Wherever possible, Pamela would join him on his visits to Europe, the UK and America. She remembers joining him on a trip to Tahiti. “It was marvelous! Coming over the island, seeing the blue sea.”
Peter’s job also entailed internal relocation– and they juggled between living in Brisbane and Melbourne, before retiring for a while in Merimbula on the NSW Sapphire Coast.
“When I started to crack up with my knees and hips, we moved back to Melbourne to be closer to the hospitals and doctors,” she says.
Selling up the family home during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult – but Pamela says the RSL did a wonderful job of helping her clean up the house and take items out for donation.
Pamela has always been an adventurous sports woman. As a kid she used to spend a lot of time at Luna Park – in fact, her aunt was the first child to ever ride the scenic railway before the park even opened as her father was the engineer! Pamela also loved playing golf, lawn bowls and was a very good swimmer.
And now that she’s at Uniting AgeWell Andrew Kerr Care community she has the opportunity to play sport like putt putt on the beautiful new outdoor green – and go on heaps of bus trips and outings to explore the beautiful area.
Find out more about Andrew Kerr Care Community