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General News

18 July, 2022

Making the most of each day key to longevity

Maryborough’s Eunice O’Keeffe marked a special milestone last week, celebrating her 90th birthday alongside family and friends. Born on July 12, 1932, Eunice was hoping to “sail through” her milestone birthday without much attention but...

By Riley Upton

Eunice O’Keeffe believes the secret to longevity is taking each day as it comes and making the most of what you’ve got and she would know, with the Maryborough local marking her 90th birthday last week.
Eunice O’Keeffe believes the secret to longevity is taking each day as it comes and making the most of what you’ve got and she would know, with the Maryborough local marking her 90th birthday last week.

Maryborough’s Eunice O’Keeffe marked a special milestone last week, celebrating her 90th birthday alongside family and friends.

Born on July 12, 1932, Eunice was hoping to “sail through” her milestone birthday without much attention but found quite the opposite, marking the day at home surrounded by friends, family and plenty of flowers and cards.

“It was exciting and it wasn’t, I didn’t expect or want any of the celebrations or flowers and things I got — I thought I’d sail through and it would be like a normal day,” she said.

“Everyone had to do something it seems, my brother from Warrnam-bool who’s 89 came to visit and there were plenty of friends with me too.”

Born in Bendigo originally, Eunice has lived all across Victoria, before later in life settling in Maryborough.

“I was born in Bendigo and then we went to Alexandra on a dairy farm where dad worked,” she said.

“He got sick of that after a while and went on to do carpentry and he built quite a few houses in Maryborough back in the day.

“He died a carpenter and his sons, my brothers, took the business over and continued it.”

Looking back on her 90 years, Eunice spoke fondly of meeting her husband Ray when he was a fresh faced sailor out of the Navy.

“Meeting Ray was a highlight, he was a sailor who had come out of the Navy when I met him,” she said.

“I met him in Geelong when he got a job driving trains and he later moved up to Warrnambool where I was living and things went from there.

“I was around 20 when I met him and 18 months later we were married, we honeymooned in Adelaide and our son Frank came along a couple of years later.”

The pair went on to have four children — Frank, Susan, Valerie and Diane who have each had their own children, something Eunice said is also a highlight.

Eunice’s love for gardening is evident from her front yard, where neatly trimmed rose bushes greet visitors, a love she said probably came from her mother.

“I love gardens, we had a big garden in Warrnambool and my husband was a very big vegetable gardener,” she said.

“I wasn’t much interested in vegetables but I liked the flowers.

“My mother was a very keen gardener and I think I caught it off her.”

Eunice said her work at the local hospital as a cook for 20 years was also a highlight.

Still independent, Eunice said she plans to take each day as it comes and make the most of what she’s got, which is her secret to longevity.

“I’m going to just take what comes, I’ve had a good life and a marvellous husband,” she said.

“You just go on and take what comes to you, make the most of what you’ve got.”

Eunice’s love for gardening, her husband Ray and their four children and handful of grandchildren are among the highlights of her 90 years.
Eunice’s love for gardening, her husband Ray and their four children and handful of grandchildren are among the highlights of her 90 years.
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