Dorothy Yeomans 24.5.1915 - 17.08.2020
Dorothy was born on 24 May 1915 to Alexander and Lily Morris, the second of two children following her brother Jim who was born two years earlier. Tragically, Alexander was killed in WW1 in Belgium, so Dorothy never really knew her father.
For a couple of years after the war, the family - Jim, Dorothy, their mother and grandmother - lived in Auckland, NZ, before returning to Sydney for the rest of her childhood.
At age 17, she saw the Harbour Bridge completed and opened. She heard about the opening on the wireless.
Dorothy met Clarrie Ryan, and they were married at St Anne's, Ryde, in November 1935. The birth of their son Neville the following year was everything Dorothy had hoped for, and she settled into a happily married life.
The advent of WW2 proved something of an adventure for Dorothy, as she was keen to "do her bit", and together with her great friend Doe, she had various jobs, including working in a sewing factory, and also at the Arnott's biscuit factory on the production line. Neither job lasted very long. The ladies much preferred their social life of dancing at the Trocadero and shopping at Mark Foys and David Jones, which they continued to do after the war was over. Always stylish and elegantly dressed, in later years Dorothy would become a favourite customer of CCs Fashion in Springwood. In the 1950s, Dorothy worked for a time at Rural Newspapers in the Ryde office and also as a process worker for the Telephone and Electrical Industries Pty Ltd in Meadowbank.
Clarrie died in 1959 and Dorothy found herself widowed at the age of 44. To help her at this time, her brother Jim brought her down to Young, where he and his wife Phyllis were running the Empire Hotel, more commonly known as The Blood and Guts. In no time at all, Dorothy was pulling schooners behind the bar, and between the three of them cleaned up the hotel to the point where it received a 4-star NRMA rating.
For reasons unknown, Bill Yeomans visited the Exchange Hotel during this time. The stars, as they say, aligned and a couple years later in 1965 he and Dorothy were married. This meant that Dorothy now had two step-sons, in Bill junior and Dennis. Dorothy and Bill moved up to Springwood to a house in Chaseling Avenue that Dorothy grew to love dearly, and they became very involved in the local community, at the golf club, bowling club, Probus and Rotary.
In 1973, Dorothy saw the Sydney Opera House being completed and opened. She saw the opening on a black and white television.
In 1993, a couple moved in next door to the Yeomans, and they were to form a huge part in Dorothy's life. Having quickly introduced themselves to Nick and Vicky, Bill and Dorothy were delighted to see the arrival of firstly Rhys, and then Rhiannon, and enjoyed having a young family next door.
Bill died suddenly in March 1999, and Dorothy was once again widowed at the age of 84. Neville and young Bill asked the neighbours to keep a lookout for Dorothy and she became an integral part of their lives, baby sitting, sharing Easter and Christmas and children's birthday partries.
Dorothy loved to watch Doc Martin, and often said how much she'd like to go to the UK. To see all that beautiful countryside, to visit Buckingham Palace and shop at Harrods was a thing of dreams as far as she was concerned. Well, a hint that this might be possible saw Dorothy down at the Springwood post office organising her passport, and on her 90th birthday she flew out to London, accompanied by Vicky. Feted with champagne on the flight with Singapore Airlines, Dorothy spent 10 days in the UK, followed by two weeks in Canada, for what was probably the longest on-going birthday celebration ever. She got to see the Palace, to shop at Harrods, and to introduce herself to the Yeomen of the Guards at the Tower of London: "One Yeomans to another" she joked with them. In Canada she stayed with family and friends in Toronto and Edmonton, and visited Niagara Falls and Lake Louise in the Rocky Mountains. Truly the trip of a life-time.
On her return, Dorothy contemplated moving to a retirement village, but thought better of it. However, in 2009 at age 94 she decided the time was right, and moved to Aquinas Court in Springwood, where she became a part of that community for the next 7 years, including celebrating her 100th birthday with family and friends from far and wide coming to join in the celebrations. Despite her increasingly limited vision - blind in one eye and only partial sight in the other - daily she would walk from one end of Springwood to the other, to the shops, the bank and the medical centre. On one notable occasion, the staff at the medical centre insisted she took a taxi home. On asking the driver the fare, she told him it was outrageous, and haggled him down to half-price. She made a great friend in Steve on that day.
At age 101, in 2016, Dorothy saw the Springwood Hub being completed. This time, she was invited to - and attended - the opening ceremony as a guest of the mayor, Mark Greenhill. Asked the secret to a long life, Dorothy would invariably reply: "Drink good champagne; and always take your make-up off before going to bed". She also acknowledged good genes - her brother Jim lived till 98 - and her robust health.
A fall in December 2016 saw Dorothy reluctantly move to Hillman House. Once again she adapted easily, making the most of all the activities and options available to her. The staff, naturally, loved her. Always loving a celebration for her birthday, at 103 she took a scenic helicopter flight over Sydney, watched by her friends from Hillman House as they turned it into a day out for everybody. Asked what she might do next birthday, she joked about swimming with sharks. The following year, at age 104, Dorothy did just that, thanks to the wonderful staff of Hillman House, and the co-operation of Sydney Aquarium. This year, due to COVID, it was a quiet celebration at home, but it did include a Zoom get-together with the Canadian mob.
The staff at Hillman House cannot be praised highly enough - the care shown to Dorothy was truly wonderful.
Dorothy was able to have a conversation with her baby boy Neville on his 84th birthday in July, but then gradually slowed down, until eventually she simply decided enough was enough and gracefully and peacefully slipped away.
Always grateful, never complaining, ever optimistic, Dorothy was a remarkable lady.
