Raising a glass to toast 500 years of living: five South Australian centenarians share in birthday fun
From having “a happy husband”, to good friends and simply embracing life – and love – five remarkable centenarians share their tips for a long life at a joint birthday celebration.
Lifestyle
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Five hundred years of living – and memories – have been celebrated at a special gathering in Adelaide to mark the birthdays of five incredible centenarians.
Kathie Beasley, William Hilton, Patricia Wald, Joy Roder and Donald Wills have lived through an era most could never imagine, including a world war and great depression.
They were born in the year the first Olympic Winter Games was held, in France.
It was the year the first collection of crossword puzzles was published, a dynamic loudspeaker was invented, notebooks got their spiral binding – and Band-Aids were mass produced.
They grew up in a time before television, computers and social media when connections and friendships were made face-to-face.
On Thursday the warm and welcoming centenarian quintet who live at Walkerville’s Bolton Clarke aged care residence shared in a joint birthday celebration.
Lifestyle services co-ordinator Shontell Wikaire said it was an “unique opportunity to have so many centenarians celebrating together”.
“It’s the first time in my career in aged care that I have had the opportunity to celebrate five centenarians in one year,” she said.
The Advertiser had the privilege of receiving an invitation and getting to meet the remarkable individuals, who each turn 100 this year.
They share their tips on a happy, long life which include having a “happy husband”, good friends and simply embracing life – and love.
Kathie Beasley; born on August 14, 1924
An avid writer of poetry, the immaculately attired and perfectly poised Kathie Beasley is the epitome of a true lady.
Quietly and gently spoken, she says friendship is the most important thing in life.
“I think that has been the most important thing in my life, my good friends were always there – we weren’t in each other’s pockets, but we were always there for each other.”
“I was an only child of an only child, so was pretty much on my own – my friends were everything.”
Growing up in Second Valley, Mrs Beasley also attributes her long life to “good living”, having fun and looking forward.
“I was also always well looked after,” she says.
Mrs Beasley began a lifelong career as a nurse aged just 15.
“I was always a nurse and loved every minute of it … we had so much fun,” she says.
Sadly the eldest of Mrs Beasley’s two sons, Geoffrey, died several years ago but she remains supported by son Jon, “dearly loved daughter-in-law, Jan, and many adored grandchildren”.
She says her main hope for her beloved grandchildren is they never experience war.
“Except for war, my life has been a good life … but those years have skipped past and life goes on,” she says.
“I’ve never been a worrier, if something came up that I wasn’t going to be happy about, I didn’t dwell on it.
“These days if I can’t sleep, I think back on a happy memory.”
Donald Wills; born March 16, 1924
The proud Legion of Honour recipient defied all odds during World War II, surviving in his role as a tail gunner in a Lancaster bomber – described as one of the most dangerous war-time jobs – when many did not.
“The tail gunner was a key gunner but the job was high risk as in those days the tail gunner – or rear gunner – was positioned at the rear or ‘tail’ of the plane where the job was to defend against enemy fighters or interceptor attacks,” a RSL spokesperson said.
“They’d have to come from the rear and could easily be shot down”.
One statistic, refers to the “inordinately high mortality among tail gunners”, stating that of 55,573 bomber command crew killed in WWII, “some 22,000 were tail gunners”.
When asked to share the memory of his life from this time that remains most vivid, he shakes his head and says “I don’t want to talk about that”.
Mr Wills says he has “no idea” what the secret to long life is but recalls being told 50 years ago he wasn’t to “last the night”, after a simple kidney stone operation went wrong.
“But here I am now,” he laughs.
Mr Wills, a former payroll officer at Toyota refers to computers as the most significant, life-changing invention in his lifetime.
A loving father and stepfather of seven, he says he misses his late wife Iris, who he was married to for almost four and a half decades, dearly.
Joy Roder; born on September 18, 1924
The secret to a long life is simple, according to Joy Roder.
“It is a happy husband,” she simply says.
The mother of one, a son called Michael, was married to her late optometrist husband Alan for more than six decades and says she will never forget the moment she first laid eyes on him.
“We were at a dance at the Glenelg Town Hall,” she recalls.
“I had a black frock on … I sat down and was thinking ‘oh God, I hope he comes over to me next’ and he did.
“He said, ‘may I have this dance’.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.
“We had a beautiful marriage … Alan passed away two years ago,” she says.
The couple would billet visit US soldiers, forging life-long friendships.
“We had a lot of fun,” she says.
She says she’s never signed up to social media and has no interest in it but lists television as the most significant invention of her time, recalling the excitement of colour TV.
Today Mrs Roder, who worked for many years at Allans Music as well as an usher in a theatre showing “big deal movies such as Gone with the Wind”, enjoys classical music, “the occasional concert and old time sing-a-longs”.
William Hilton; born, February 6, 1924
For this Scottish-born centenarian, the secret to a life that is long and well-lived is simple: love.
“Love, and life itself, is the most important thing,” he said, urging people to embrace “life and living”, and telling of his deep love for his late wife Beth.
“Where there is life there is hope, and where there are friends, there is love … and where there is love, nobody can be unhappy.
“Learning patience and being able to listen is something we all need to be able to do, to be open to people’s differences and to try to help understand each other is definitely important.
“I think we also need to know when to be serious and when to have fun.”
And there’s no question, Mr Hilton knows how to have fun.
It is him who leads off the joint birthday celebration on Thursday with a hearty rendition of, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”.
Aged 17 Mr Hilton joined the French Navy and remained at sea for four years.
Post war, he worked as a postman before making the decision to migrate to Australia where he spent 45 years working in South Australia for Holden.
Mr Hilton doesn’t hesitate when asked to share a standout life memory.
It was meeting Queen Elizabeth as a young man, post World War II.
“That was a happy day,” he recalls with a smile.
“I will never forget having her hold my hand … not everyone gets to meet the Queen and have her thank them; the memory of her touching me is still something I hold dear.”
Mr Hilton is a loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather, “adoring” his young grandsons.
Patricia Wald; born onMarch 15, 1924
A proud mum of seven, Mrs Wald attributes her long life to good food, being active, a strong religious faith – and “taking in interest in everything”, which included reading the newspaper from front to back.
An ardent traveller in her younger days, she and her late husband Brian, who she was married to for more than six decades, trekked across the globe visiting places such as Turkey, England and New Zealand.
The centenarian, who was born and raised in Jamestown in the state’s mid north, lists a trip to London in 1995 as a favourite.
“It was the idea of London … on the other side of the world,” she says.
She also recalls many camping trips to the Flinders Ranges and travelling across the Nullarbor Plain when the main track was just dirt.
Mrs Wald spent several decades volunteering in schools, helping with reading programs and working in the tuckshop.
“Oh well, I just loved the children and working in the tuckshop,” she says.
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