Memorable birthdays celebrated

Three residents are proudly 95 years old

Born in Johannesburg on October 4, 1920, Jane Hart Davis is proudly 95! The resident of Rand Aid’s Ron Smith Care Centre says her parents were from Edinburgh, Scotland, and that she was the fourth of seven children. “I attended Johannesburg Girls’ High and later took up an apprenticeship as a hairdresser. I was fortunate to have a job during the depression,” she remembers, adding that back then you could get a perm for next to nothing. She met her husband, Eric, at a party and they were married for 19 years. She was married for the same period of time to her second husband, Phillip. Jane has two daughters, Beryl and Barbara, a son, John, seven grand children and six great grandchildren. Jane was always very active in sports and started playing golf when she was about 36. “I also used to love going out dancing and especially enjoyed the waltz and the foxtrot. These days, I enjoy going for a walk everyday and I do like to sing, but unfortunately sound like a frog!  My proudest achievements are my children --- they turned out so well!”

Ron Smith Care Centre resident Lilian Christie celebrated her 95^th birthday on October 19. Born in the Transkei, Lilian grew up in Windhoek. Her first husband, Joseph Franks, passed away as a result of cancer at the age of 45. Lilian later wed William Christie and the couple lived in Swaziland for 10 years, and later Durban. At the age of 82, Lilian moved into Rand Aid Association’s Tarentaal village before moving to the NPO’s care centre three years ago. She enjoys participating in the care centre’s walking programmes and was always an avid knitter and seamstress.

Born on October 19, 1920, in Canada, Pauline Green moved to England as a child. She qualified and worked as a general nursing sister before moving to South Africa after the Second World War. Pauline has two daughters, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren. In her spare time, she used to paint and still loves to read. Prior to moving to Rand Aid Association’s Ron Smith Care Centre in 2014, she stayed in Tarentaal, one of the NPO’s retirement villages.