Happy 100th birthday Mr Dewey!
Happy 100th birthday to Resthaven Port Elliot resident, Mr Raymond Dewey, who celebrates his milestone on 11 August.
While Mr Dewey now enjoys a relaxing lifestyle in the Fleurieu Peninsula, the first half of his life looked vastly different.
Mr Dewey says, ‘I was born and raised in Nottingham, England, along with my brother.’
‘We were a railway family, and my father was a stationmaster. I followed in his footsteps when I left school at 14 years of age, but not before I met my dear Velma-Anne.’
Mr Dewey was fortunate to meet his soulmate and late wife, Velma-Anne, at his local church school. The childhood friendship soon blossomed into a romance, and they stayed together ever after.
‘I found employment on the railways as a clerk—handling the accounts, the booking office and such.’
‘When I was of age, I joined the Royal Navy as a sailor during war times [World War II] and came home on leave to marry Velma-Anne.’
When the war ended, the newlyweds found a home in Hinckley, before relocating to Worcestershire, and then Rosedale for a year, eventually moving back to Hinckley.
‘Velma-Anne blessed me with three children during that time, and she was a very good wife. We had a lot of laughs and enjoyed doing many things together, particularly dancing.’
In Mr Dewey’s early 40s, an opportunity arose to relocate to Australia.
‘Velma-Anne and I packed up and moved to Adelaide with the two youngest children, and I began working in a bookmaking factory, where I bound the books.’
‘At that time in our lives it was a lot of getting used to, living in Australia. We did enjoy the warmth though, and never went back.’
Upon retiring, Mr and Mrs Dewey began travelling the world.
‘We flew to most places, visiting Queensland often, but we found we had the most enjoyment on cruise ships. We very much enjoyed our cruise to New Zealand before Velma-Anne passed.’
On reaching his centenarian milestone, Mr Dewey reflects, ‘My favourite thing I ever did was meet my wife. My best memories are with her. She was warm and loving and was good at just about anything she put her mind to.’
‘It is important to find a suitable partner in life, and I got lucky with mine.’
Many happy returns, Mr Dewey!