Yvonne was born in Wellington and trained as a Registered Nurse at Dunedin Hospital. She left in 1968 for her OE and spent 5 years overseas living in England and South Africa. She returned to NZ in 1973 bringing her husband-to-be with her. Her career spanned 53 years, 30 of which were working in healthcare for the elderly, focusing on education and rehabilitation. She was one of the founders of accreditation for healthcare services. She has travelled widely and has two children and 4 grandchildren. Yvonne has been a member of U3A for the past 6 years.
Roger trained as a Medical Laboratory Scientist in Pathology at Christchurch Hospital. He has worked in Australia and NZ and in both the private and public sectors. In the mid 90’s he changed his focus to IT in Pathology and for 15 years was IT Manager at Medlab South. In semi-retirement he has been a contract IT Manager and an Operations Manager for the CDHB during the Covid-19 pandemic response. In his spare time he is a gardener and golfer, and with grandchildren in Hong Kong and Brisbane he and his wife Sue are supportive grandparents visiting their overseas families whenever possible.
Lynne is Christchurch born and where she has spent most of her life. Her working career began in Christchurch before moving to Paraparumu. Work in Wellington, while still enjoying the relaxed beach- side life of Paraparaumu, gave further opportunities. A return to Christchurch bought her ‘home’ to be closer to family. The basis of her working career has always been office administration and management. Throughout a long and varied career, experience was gained in health, accountancy, including insolvency and fund investments, a travel agency, and the clothing industry before returning to the rewarding area of health specifically elder care, health and disabilities. During this time she assisted in the attainment of quality improvement awards together with the introduction of computerised office administration systems. Throughout her varied career she was an integral part of organisations and care facilities whose focus was improving systems and care levels, assisting families often stressful upsetting situations, while appreciating people, all within her rewarding roles.
Linda worked as an Executive Assistant and was involved in the rebuild of Christchurch after the earthquakes. She also worked as a professional photographer. Linda lived in England for 20 years, but these days enjoys being outdoors around Christchurch, gardening, walking and trying to keep fit, photography, watercolour painting, drawing and reading. She is also actively involved with her young grandchildren.
John Grant was born in the small town of Nairn in the North of Scotland. He immigrated to New Zealand at the age of twelve and has lived here ever since. His father was a "ten-pound Pom" part of the post-war immigration to New Zealand. John has been married to Angela for 54 years. Together they have two children and five grandchildren, all of whom are an important part of his life. He is a Chartered Accountant with more than 50 years' experience, having worked across a range of commercial organisations in manufacturing, finance and retail. Although officially retired, he still works a few hours each week. John's interests include travel - both the journeys themselves and the planning that goes into them, reading, keeping up to date with politics and the latest developments in technology.
Sonia has lived in Christchurch for 30 years after living in Timaru, Nelson and Murchison. She has been married to John for 35 years and has two adult children and one grandchild, all living in Christchurch. Sonia was a Chartered Accountant for 35 years, working for a number of small to medium sized practices and was also the Treasurer for the St Martins School Board of Trustees for a number of years. Sonia is enjoying retirement spending time with family and friends, working on her fitness and various craft interests. She also enjoys travel, reading, watching movies and coffee dates with girlfriends. One of her life goals is to cycle as many of the New Zealand cycle trails as possible.
Vivienne was born in Invercargill. A former journalist, she moved to Christchurch with her husband and family in 1989 working for the Christchurch City Council until 1993 when she moved into the health sector. After completing an MBA (dist.) she managed communications for several government agencies in New Zealand, the NHS in England and the WHO in Switzerland, returning to Christchurch a few months before the 2010 earthquake. She worked for Civil Defence after 22 February 2011, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and then Housing New Zealand. She is the author of several books including ‘Go Home and Cook a Meal’ the biography of Mollie McGrade Clark, ‘The History of the Spinal Unit’ at Burwood Hospital, ‘Creating a Legacy of Social Housing’ the story of Housing New Zealand’s five year repair and rebuild programme following the 2011 earthquakes, the biography ‘Leading Lady: Eve Poole, a Life in the Spotlight’, and has recently completed Volumes 1 & 2 of the history of the Nurse Maude District Nursing Association, a revised edition.
Bev was born in Christchurch, lived in Auckland for 11 years and Hamilton for a year before returning to Christchurch in 1984. She has been married for 55 years to her husband Bruce. Bev spent the majority of her working life in business administration mainly accounting for a small business. She served as treasurer on the Opawa School Board of Trustees, has been an AFS Committee member and is a member of the Rakaia Gorge Society where she has held the position of treasurer. Bev's interests are camping and the outdoors, walking, gardening, current affairs, baking, knitting and she is an avid animal lover.
