Samford Grove resident and breast cancer survivor Wilhelmina (Willy) Kranenburg has paddled into the best years of her life, joining a senior squad of cancer survivors to form a dragon boat paddling team.   

After being inspired to take up the sport by a young mum and fellow breast cancer fighter in late 2007, Willy took to the water with a group of cancer survivors. The group train and participate in the community-based watersport all over Australia and the world.  

Initially shy about the physical requirements of the sport, which requires groups of 8 to 20 to manually paddle a watercraft between 200 and 2,000 metres, Willy, who had also undergone a hip replacement, instantly fell in love with the sport.  

“I didn’t think I would be able to try dragon boating, because of my age, but my friends and husband told me that I should try it, so I did,” Willy said. “I tried paddling for the first time when I was 68 and I got lost in it. I absolutely loved it.”  

With her new passion and like-minded community supporting her every step of the way, Willy went on to enjoy many dragon boating events including trips to Canada, Tin Can Bay and Italy.   

Although Willy no longer physically participates in paddling, she is still actively involved and regularly catches up with her fellow dragon boaters and plans to continue travelling with the resilient squad.  

“A group of us ladies made a pact that we would all continue paddling until we reached 80 years old, so that’s what we did,” Willy said. “There are still ladies paddling well into their 80’s but I stopped at that time after 12 years.  

“The last time I paddled was in Florence under the Ponte Vecchio while singing Waltzing Matilda. It was amazing. I’m still looking forward to joining the ladies on upcoming trips. We’re going to New Zealand next.”  

Born in The Netherlands, Willy and her husband moved to Australia where she spent the majority of her working career as a teacher, before retiring in 2005 as a kindergarten teacher, one year after receiving her cancer diagnosis.   

Now living out her golden years at Reside Communities’ Samford Grove retirement village after the sudden loss of her husband in 2016, Willy enjoys an active and fulfilling retirement surrounded by supportive staff and friends.  

Samford Grove Village Manager Bronwyn O’Brien said Willy is an inspiration to the community’s other residents, as well as staff.  

“Willy’s story and determination is so inspiring to everyone at Samford Grove,” Bronwyn said. “Despite everything she has been through she continues to be a beacon of positivity and is always and is actively involved in our community. Willy loves living at Samford Grove and we are so grateful to have her here.”

Entering a recent Samford Community Library raffle was a no-brainer for Margaret Baltis after the 86-year-old saw the winning prize – a one-hour scenic flight as a passenger in a Tiger Moth plane. 

Surprised and beaming with excitement when she was told she had won, Margaret’s mind flashed back 65 years to when she last took a flight in the same plane.  

“From the age of 10 my heart was set on learning to fly,” Margaret said. 

Following her dream she first learnt to fly in a Tiger Moth plane by the age of 21 and by 1958 Margaret had obtained a private pilot licence. 

In 1960 she worked as a flight attendant before getting married to her now late husband Edward Ernest, before having her five children. 

Although her aircraft career lasted only five years, it remains Margaret’s most prominent passion today. 

With her home within the Samford Grove community filled with pictures of her airborne past, particularly in Tiger Moth planes, Margaret’s winning experience on May 3 this year was a dream come true. 

 

“I flew for my own pleasure. Those five years in flying were the only times I did anything for myself, and the past has joined with the present,” Margaret said. 

Multiple Samford Grove residents stood awaiting Margaret overhead as she flew over the community she has called home for nearly two years.  

“It was my choice where I wanted to fly, and I said I wanted to fly over Samford Grove to take photos of the place. I wanted to see where I lived and all the places around it,” Margaret said. 

Samford Grove resident Vicki Svensen was one of those who watched on. 

“We were all waving. How great for Margaret,” Vicki said. 

It truly was a day that Margaret will never forget. 

“I was so surprised when I won, I had bought five tickets and just happened to win (the raffle competition). It was my first time in 65 years since I put my foot in the cockpit of a Tiger Moth plane. It was very strange, but I loved it.” 

With an interesting career that includes a stint in the army, the Queensland State Emergency Services as a Senior Chaplin and as a university lecturer in Applied Psychology, Peter’s retirement in 2013 left the couple desiring a more relaxed lifestyle.  

Peter and Diane moved from the ‘Big Smoke’ of Brisbane to the relaxing charm of Samford in July last year, chasing the semi-rural-feeling lifestyle and accessibility to everything they need. 

With their three children now adults and on their own adventures, Peter and Diane spend their days with friends they’ve made at Samford Grove, enjoying social events and being as active as they please! 

To learn more about Samford Grove or to book a private tour, contact us on (07) 3289 3372.

If you didn’t join us at Brookland Robertson or Samford Grove for one of our Coffee & Cake events recently, you missed out on some great conversation, freshly-brewed coffee and warm tasty treats.

We had such a great time welcoming more than 90 locals into our communities for a series of jam-packed information sessions – an incredible success and record number of visitors!

Here’s a little taste of how the days went.

Guests were treated to goodies from our in-house community cafés while enjoying discussions with Reside staff, including CEO Glen Brown, Head of Operations Craig Syphers, Village Managers and residents, followed by a tour of the community and display apartments.

Didn’t make it along? Don’t worry – Samford Grove will be opening its doors once again for another Coffee & Cake event very soon.

Follow Brookland Robertson and Samford Grove on Facebook to be notified when the next events are announced.

Brisbane based Retirement Operator – Reside Communities pro-actively planned for the opening of Queensland borders and the Omicron variant of Covid, anticipating likely impacts in early December 2021 and throughout the festive season.

From the outset, Chief Operating Officer Craig Syphers’ prime focus was on the health and wellbeing of residents and staff.  The first need was to ensure adequate “at village” staffing, particularly when village staff began to be impacted by Covid testing and/or close contact isolation between Christmas and New Year.

Essential planning and implementation throughout this period and continuing in January 2022 includes:

• Daily welfare checks with all residents in Reside villages;
• Strict guidelines and enforcement on safe visits of contractors and relatives;
• Securing RAT kits for essential staff;
• Separating Reside Village staff into discrete Teams – A and B to ensure safety, service and business continuity; &
• These teams operating different shifts in each village.

Craig and the Reside Senior Executive Group are also the back-up team (Team C) should the need arise withing the villages. Craig noted that “Residents and their families were very appreciative of our focus on their health and safety”.

 

Originally published by The Source which is the preeminent Retirement Village Publication; reproduced with permission.