By Steph McNicol
A FACEBOOK post has banded together the Seymour community as they look to help much-loved resident Ramona Dunwoodie maintain her garden.
After hearing about Ms Dunwoodie’s time nursing and all she has done for people throughout her life, Rob Baker called out to the community to help.
“To the community of Seymour and surrounding districts, I met this loving, caring and full-of-life 90 year old woman who … carried on as a nurse after the war and raised seven kids with her loving husband, who is no longer with us,” Mr Baker said.
“I drove Ramona home [after meeting with her for a coffee] and she was so excited to show me her home and garden and broke down and cried. She said she can’t maintain her garden like she used to and her rails needed a coat of paint.”
After an overwhelming response, Mr Baker said volunteers would be gathering from 9am on November 30 at Ms Dunwoodie’s house to begin garden maintenance.
A close friend of Ms Dunwoodie, Kate Martin, said she would be reluctant to accept the help from the community because she had spent her whole life giving, not taking.
Ms Dunwoodie spends her days visiting and helping her sons Ian and Tim.
“She always says, in life today, everything revolves around greed, and she doesn’t like that. She’ll say ‘I’d rather have lived in the Great Depression than live among today’s greed,” Ms Martin said.
“She started nursing in 1947, and stopped for a while to look after her mum. When she passed, she waited until she was fit enough again to go back and study nursing at St Andrews in Ipswich.”
Ms Dunwoodie said she spent her mother’s last moments alongside her, and when she died, the doctor handed her a card and told her to follow the steps.
“I opened it up and it was the Ten Commandments. I’ve just followed it through life. I’m not a religious person because I don’t like friction.
“Without friction, that’s how I solve my problems. How many religions are there? Every one of those religions think they’re right and the other bloke is wrong, so there will always be friction.”
Her love for her garden is what keeps Ms Dunwoodie occupied in her free time when she isn’t caring for her sons.
People interested in helping Ms Dunwoodie maintain her garden can call Robert Baker on 0428 112 070 to find out more.
