'City princess' leaves legacy

The Reeves family are mourning a significant loss to their clan, following the recent death of Daphne Joan Reeves.

FAMILY MATTERS: Daphne (middle) with children John, Janette, Suzanne, Bryan and Chris. Picture: Contributed

THE Reeves family are mourning a significant loss to their clan, following the recent death of Daphne Joan Reeves.

Daph, as she was known to her friends, was born in Brisbane in 1929 and was the youngest daughter of Stewart and Clarice Dick.

She had two older sisters: Marie and Shirley, both of whom have predeceased her.

Her father Stewart was a journalist and later chief of staff at The Courier-Mail. He died just years after Daph married in '53, but her mother Clarice lived until she was 80.

Daphne lived there through The Depression as a child and most of the war years as a teenager.

She attended All Hallows' school in Brisbane.

It was in 1949 at the Pacific Hotel in Southport that she would meet the love of her life and husband for the following six-plus decades.

Ted Reeves happened to be dining there with parents Stan and Mamie the night a young Daph was taking part in the Miss Queensland section of the Miss Australia contest.

As the entrants were parading, Stan, a well known Stanthorpe stock and station agent at the time, said to Ted, "I think no. 6, the blonde girl, would be my pick”.

Ted nodded his agreement.

He worked up the courage to ask her out and the rest is history.

Daphne and husband Ted at a family Christmas function. Picture: Contributed

In his later life Ted wrote about their life together and recalled their first encounter.

"It was the start of a sixty-year relationship and the luckiest meeting and the most fruitful I have ever made,” Ted wrote.

"Suffice to say that on this most auspicious occasion in my life the cliche "beauty only runs skin deep” did not apply. She certainly has been the most loyal and loving companion a man could possibly have.”

They were engaged at Easter in 1950 and were married in March 1951.

From then the "city princess”, as Daph was known among her country neighbours, was spirited away to the bush.

The first 18 years of their married life were spent at Karalea - a sheep property in the trap rock country about 20 kilometres west of Stanthorpe.

The property was purchased by Stan, with Ted agreeing to manage it.

There Daph set about making a loving family home.

All five children were born while she was living at Karalea - John, Christopher, Janette, Suzanne and Bryan and all attended Greenlands State School.

From that brood, 14 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren have followed.

"She was a wonderful mum - loving, caring and kind,” son, Chris Reeves said.

The pair never stayed idle for long, travelling extensively in their later lives. They took in the sights of South America, witnessed the running of the bulls in Pamplona, travelled around Europe, the UK, the US, Mexico and Asia.

In 1968 Ted and Daph moved the family to Stanthorpe into a large home they had built in Marsh St, opposite the RSL. They remained there for 45 years until Ted died in 2013.

Daphne and Ted on their wedding day in 1951. Picture: Contributed

They built a beautiful home together and they were both dedicated gardeners. The prize garden they built was their pride and joy which was featured as Garden of the Week in an issue of The Australian Woman's Weekly .

Once in Stanthorpe, Daph's life became more integrated with the church and local charities.

Among the many other activities she volunteered for were Care & Concern, patron of the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery, the Apple and Grape Harvest Festival, the Endeavour Foundation and the Stanthorpe Pottery Club.

In recognition of their services, both Ted and Daph were given life memberships of the Stanthorpe Apple and Grape Harvest Festival and the Stanthorpe Art Gallery Society.

The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2011.

Ted was quite ill for the past few years of their life in Stanthorpe and Daphne became his nurse and carer.

"The family did question her nursing skills at one time when we received constant calls saying 'there is something wrong with your father! He has done nothing but sit in the chair half asleep for days. I think he has had a stroke,” Chris said. "It turned out she had mistakenly substituted his blood pressure medication for valium.”

After Ted died, Daph moved out of the big house in Marsh St and into a Blue Care cottage in Stanthorpe. From there she moved to a nursing home in Brisbane three years ago.

She was diagnosed with dementia soon after that move and in hindsight Daph had obviously been battling with the early stages of dementia for some years, Chris said.

"The past two years have been very difficult for the family watching our mum deteriorate from the beautiful and loving person she was,” it was said by the family in her eulogy.

Daphne Reeves in her younger days. Picture: Contributed

Daphne died peacefully on Thursday, February 28, with most of her beloved family with her.

"She had a special way of understanding people, of knowing what was going on and administering the right dose of love to help us through it.

"Whether it was being there for us for the special moments in life - birth, marriage or a birthday, she had a way of letting you know that you mattered.

"We remember her grace, her beauty, and her love. She had a radiant smile that could light up a room. We celebrate her life and we show our gratitude that her sunshine warmed our lives. She lives on through our families, and for that we are truly blessed,” her eulogy said.