Baranduda woman celebrates 100 years of caring for others
Marion Parker marked her 100th birthday on October 23, having spent a lifetime caring for family and community.
Marion Parker was born in 1926 into a farming family in the Victorian Mallee, grew up without electricity, and left school at 14 to work. Marion Parker became a postmistress during World War II, later worked for a department store switchboard and an airline.
In 1955 she married farmer Norm Parker and raised four children on their Bruarong property, growing beef cattle and pine trees. Marion Parker was a keen gardener and volunteer, delivering Meals on Wheels across the Yackandandah district and making jam for church fetes.
Her husband died in a canoeing accident on the Murray River in 2002. Now a resident of Westmont Aged Care in Baranduda for a decade, Marion is a grandmother of nine and great-grandmother of 10.
At her 100th birthday lunch on October 23, she was still passing sandwich plates around, making sure everyone had eaten.
- October 23, 1926, at Meatian West
- Born
- 9 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren
- Family at 100
Why it mattersHer life shows how ordinary people build meaning through work, family and service to their community across a full century.
AustraliaMarion's story is an Australian regional life, from outback farming to aged care, showing how people in rural Victoria have lived and built community across generations.
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