Frieda Stevens has lived and worked in so many countries that she says her family describes her as a “gipsy.”
And the 90-year old is happy to be living at Uniting AgeWell Box Hill Community where she enjoys care and comfort, and not having to worry about all the responsibilities of living on her own anymore.
Frieda was born in Germany and remembers being sent to the country to live with foster families during the war to get away from all the bombings. “I learned to milk a cow, before that I thought that milk just somehow came from a supermarket,” she laughs.
After the war she worked in England, Switzerland, Ethiopia and Arabia, doing a number of roles including teaching, before moving to Australia 54 years ago. Here she met her husband, and went on to have two sons.
She has been back to Germany several times to visit family over the years. “I often think the story of my life is much like the girl in the novel The Book Thief,” Frieda says.
“My life has been anything but boring,” she grins.
She is enjoying her life and has made a lot of new friends.