WITH a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her face, Doris Webster celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by a large gathering of friends and family on Saturday.
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Mrs Webster was born on May 22, 1914, and around 60 people crammed into the Parkwood Hostel’s function room to congratulate her on reaching the milestone.
The centenarian said the key to a long life was “hard work and no drink,” and said her birthday had crept up on her so fast she barely noticed growing old.
“I never thought about it much, and one day you don’t think much of it, but then the next day it’s right there,” Mrs Webster said. “I don’t really feel much different.”
She said she had enjoyed her later years at Parkwood Hostel, and appreciated the helpful and kind staff, but warned that relying on them would make a person lazy.
“You do your bit and they’ll do theirs. You can’t sit back and think, ‘Oh, they’ll do that for me’,” Mrs Webster said, adding it was important to “always have a joke”.
Mrs Webster married her late husband Edward George Webster in 1944, after the couple met in Wagga Wagga when she won the Digger’s Queen competition for raising the largest sum of money for the war-time effort during World War II.
The couple had two children, Stuart and Ross, and Stuart said his mother was a remarkable woman who was strongly independent, even in her old age.
“She sold the old family home in Orange to move into Parkwood, and told us after she had done it,” Stuart said. “She made her decisions first and then told us about them after.”
Stuart said he was glad so many of her family and friends travelled from across Australia to wish his mother a happy birthday, and said she should be proud of her long life.
