Canungra’s Yorkshire lass Irene Sim celebrated her 90th big birthday bash on November 24 at the Canungra Bowls Club.
Without looking a day over 80, Irene was surprised to see the day creep around the corner, as she is the first one in the family to reach 90.
“It was quite a shock when the year turned and I thought, ‘Ah, ‘24’, but of course, I’m quite happy about it really – it’s a good age to reach,” she said.
Irene’s close friend Jean Comley organised the party and was grateful to celebrate Irene’s birthday with her.
“It was just perfect. Everybody was happy and a lot of people who don’t normally get together were all under one roof,” Jean said.
“Everybody knew everybody, so there was a lot of mingling. There were not very many that didn’t turn up.”
Irene has been a friend of Jean’s for over 25 years, after she moved to Australia in 1991 to marry her husband, Bill.
She knew Jean through working with her son Stuart at The Outpost Café and has since been adopted by the Comley family while her relatives still reside in England.
“Any holidays, she’s always included as far as my son and I are concerned,” Jean said.
“My younger son and his family, she treats them like hers.”
Irene has lived a fulfilling life in Canungra where she has worked and volunteered for numerous years, especially at the local school and mobile blood bank.
“I was working with Year Three. I used to go in Thursday and Friday and I’d have two children one-on-one for literacy,” Irene said.
“I loved it. When they finally get it, that’s the reward.”
She worked with the school for over 13 years and with the blood bank until she was 80.
“It was just a bit too much, so I had to give it up,” she said.
“It is all part of my being. I did all those things, so they are a part of me.”
“I’ll never forget doing it,” Irene added.
Irene was ecstatic to celebrate her birthday with family, friends and the community.
“I’m not in town to see people. That’s the beauty of this,” Irene said.
