Beth McCormack recently celebrated 20 years of living at Juniper Chrystal Halliday Retirement Living, making her the longest-standing resident there. Walk into her home and it becomes obvious that she is not someone who sits still.
Her walls are covered in her own paintings, there’s an electronic piano in the corner, and somewhere nearby is whatever woodworking project she’s currently working on.
Beth’s path to painting began drawing blueprints at the Public Works Department’s Architectural Division, where she was required to study hand drawing, architectural drawing and building construction at TAFE, and it was there that her passion for creating art began.
Decades later, the walls of her unit at Chrystal Halliday tell that story well, hung with paintings of landscapes, family portraits, and a whole lot of dogs. “I’ve painted over 100 dog portraits for their owners over the years,” she said. “I enjoy doing this for other people, and I only charge something so that I can keep buying the canvases.”
But even in her landscapes she has a habit of finding a way to sneak one in. She pointed to a painting of a horse and carriage hanging above her, and sure enough, a little dog had found its way in. “I didn’t have a dog in it at first, and I thought, I can’t not have a little dog in here,” she laughed.
She is equally talented when it comes to music, being a self-taught pianist and clarinet player who has performed for residents next door at Chrystal Halliday Residential Aged Care Home many times.
“I’m about the same age as most of the people in the home, so I play all the songs I remember from when I was a kid, and they all know them and love them,” she said. “Being able to play by ear is an advantage, because a lot of people just have to have a sheet of music in front of them”.
Adding to her creative abilities, Beth is also handy with timber, building many things from scratch, much of which she has made good use of throughout her unit. She designed and built her double bed frame, complete with eight cupboard drawers underneath as well as her computer desk/painting station and constructed a shade cloth structure outside that keeps her cool in summer.
When asked what people might be surprised to learn about her, Beth smiled. “Well, people wouldn’t know I have a pilot’s licence.”
Before retirement, Beth spent 20 years living and working in Port Hedland, where she refuelled passenger jets at the airport and drove the fuel tanker that carted supply from the depot. “Most people wouldn’t have dreamed of driving a fuel tanker,” she said. “It was work that very few women were doing at the time.”
Beth now fills her time making the most of life, staying social and active with carpet bowls four days a week at Scarborough, crocheting blankets for kids in wheelchairs, and participating in a Thursday craft group that welcomes people all across the community.
“I took six blankets up to Wheelchairs For Kids Australia last week,” she said. “Some of the people in the craft group don’t live here but they’re allowed to join. So we’re providing that service to the community which I like.”
She speaks highly of the staff who have made her feel at home over the years, particularly Sharon Dixon, the Retirement Living Coordinator at Chrystal Halliday. “She makes an effort to come and say happy birthday, because she remembers when your birthday is,” Beth said. “She’s lovely, and she joins in with us at craft as well.”
This year, residents marked Beth’s 20-year milestone with a get-together in the common room, where some of her own paintings hang on the walls. She celebrated with friends over bubbly and counts it among the highlights of her time at Chrystal Halliday.
When asked what advice she would give to anyone considering the move to retirement living, Beth said simply: “Put your name down. It’s wonderful, I just love it.”
As for the future, Beth isn’t slowing down anytime soon. “I intend to play carpet bowls till I’m 100,” she said. “So, I’ve got a little way to go yet.”
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