CELEBRATIONS were deservingly in order for Willowmeade resident Irene who turned 100 years old last Tuesday.
On Wednesday, May 6, 1925, Irene was born in the small New South Wales country town of Wellington, to parents Elsie Pearl and Walter Albert Pulbrook.
She was christened ‘Irene Joyce’ and had spent most her life being known as Joyce or Joycie, before deciding to be referred to again as Irene in her later years.
Irene is the youngest of seven children, the baby sister to Carl, Evelyn, Ronald, Gwen, Jean, and Dawn.
Growing up, Irene loved animals – anything from dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, geese, and the beloved family cow Betsy. Her love for animals has held so strong that to this day, Irene remains a vegetarian.
Irene also loved school, and was the student that would help others in her class. Living far away from the school, she would wake up early to catch the train and return home late in the evening but still tried hard to keep up with her homework.
Irene moved to Sydney in her 20’s to live with her eldest sister Evelyn where she secured a job with the PMG as a telephonist and became very popular with her work colleagues and friends. Her presence attracted the attention of Ronald Sydney Harris, a telephone technician for the PMG, and the two fell in love and married on April 4, 1954.
Together, they bought a house in Kogarah, New South Wales and later welcomed their two children, Coralie Pearl in 1961 and John Andrew, six years later. Irene left work when Coralie was born to be a full-time mother and returned in her fifties when she begun working as a catering assistant at St George Hospital.
When her daughter Coralie decided to return to nursing , Irene retired once again in 1991 to take care of Coralie’s twin girls, Allison and Michelle, and enjoyed every minute she spent with her adorable granddaughters, until they came of age and found romantic relationships in Melbourne.
Soon, Coralie moved to Kilmore and later, Irene’s children convinced her to live with Coralie, until two years ago when Irene moved into BlueCross Willowmeade Residential Aged Care, now known as Kilmore Grove Community Care.
Today, Irene is the proud grandmother of Alison and Michelle, and great grandmother to the ‘awesome foursome’, Hayden, Flynn, Elsie and Florence.
Happy 100th birthday to you, Irene!
