General News
26 February, 2019
Milestone for Mary
MONDAY was a special occasion for Cobdenhealth resident Mary Parker who celebrated her 100th birthday.
MONDAY was a special occasion for Cobdenhealth resident Mary Parker who celebrated her 100th birthday.
Mary, who is of Irish descent, was born in Geelong.
She was the oldest of six children and has one surviving sister.
Mary lived all her life in Geelong apart from the last 15 years, which she has spent in Cobden.
She spent four years living with one of her daughters before moving into Heytesbury Lodge 11 years ago where she now calls home.
Mary married Geelong farmer Ivan Parker in 1939 and had three children. She now has nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Family and friends were a large part of her life, with her grandchildren fondly calling her ‘Mar Mar’.
Cobdenheath acting chief executive officer Ali Rodda said staff and residents at Cobdenhealth were “thrilled” to be sharing in the milestone birthday.
“It is not everyone who gets a personal letter from the Queen, so we are hoping that Mary will be beautifully surprised when she sees the Buckingham Palace postmark,” she said.
“All of her Cobdenhealth family wish her the happiest of birthdays and we will make sure her day is filled with lots of family and friends, laughter and love and a nice big birthday cake.”