Our sports editor Steve Turner recently lost his wonderful Nanna. While this time, of course, is tinged with sadness, Steve is very proud of her longevity – at 109 years 5 months of age, Alice Elizabeth Turner was Australia’s fourth-oldest person.
Residing in Brisbane with her daughter Brenda until her passing, Alice possessed great health and excellent faculties for her entire life. She was a great cook and ran a popular coffee shop in Brisbane’s CBD for many years. At 104 she reluctantly retired from helping Brenda with the gardening.
Born in England in 1913, Alice and her family emigrated to Australia in the late 1950s. Steve recollected that Alice always loved discussing her life and was always accurate with details.
“We often chatted about her past. She loved discussing what she did at primary and high school, the difficulties of navigating through two world wars, the family’s emigration to Australia under the ‘ten-pound Pom system’ and her life in Australia. Our chats usually ended with dissecting the latest dramas on the TV soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.”
Over the years people often asked Steve that perennial question, “What’s her secret?” Although he has never really known what it is, Steve has regularly answered, “She rarely put anyone down. I think she found a way to let stress run past her as often as she could. She laughed a lot and they were deep, hearty laughs.”
