1300 653 967 
Provide Feedback 
At Amaroo, our Buckley and McMahon Caring Centres have been providing high quality care for over 40 years.
Every single resident who enters one of our Caring Centres comes with a unique story, and in our blog series Residents of Amaroo, we introduce you to the inspiring people who make Amaroo their home.
In this blog post, we introduce you to Marion.
Meet Marion
Marion has lived a remarkable life full of ups and downs.
She was born in Croydon, a large town in South London, in 1932.
“I was born in England just before the second World War, so I was there during the bombing and the rationing. It was horrible.”
Marion speaks fondly of her parents who provided what they could under difficult circumstances.
“I had a lovely mum and dad; they didn’t have much money. Dad was a printer and mum didn’t work.”
Living through the war years only strengthened Marion’s resilience and she subsequently left home at 18 to complete her nursing training.
Balancing it all
By the time Marion was 21 she was married and working full-time as a nurse.
Marion explains that life with her first husband was an extremely tumultuous time for her.
“I didn’t truly know him. He was very mean when it came to housekeeping, it was awful.”
Marion continued to work, raise her children and protect them from knowing the tough reality she was facing.
When she believed they were old enough to understand she left her husband and went back to live with her mum.
Taking a leap
Sometime later, Marion met a businessman in London who would take her out and wine and dine her.
She explains that his mother and sister had emigrated to Australia, and he asked whether Marion would like to visit them with him.
“One day he said to me- how would you fancy going to Australia for a 3-month holiday all expenses paid?
So, I just dropped everything and went. I’d never had a surprise like that before.”
The couple travelled to Brisbane and decided to permanently re-locate to the warmer country. Marion began working a night job taking calls at a doctor’s office.
“People would phone in who lived out in the bush and I would advise them of what to do before the doctor got there.”
The couple ended up moving to Perth where Marion underwent a difficult operation. This caused her much pain and aggravation, and she explains that the relationship fizzled out as a result of this.
Finding true happiness
Again, Marion turned to the comfort of her mother, who was also in Perth during this time, and they moved into a flat together.
It was living here that she met her second husband in the local supermarket.
“I was doing my shopping with my walking aid, and he asked if he could help me and ended up giving me a lift home. It just blossomed from there.”
After getting to know one another and enjoying a family holiday up North, Marion and her mother moved into his home in Tuart Hill.
“We were so happy there. He was wonderful to mum and me. He treated my mum like his own mother, and I was accepted by his family.”
The couple shared 44 wonderful years together and enjoyed 22 cruises in this time.
“We had a ball, we had lovely holidays, and nothing went wrong. We were very lucky.”
Marion’s husband sadly passed away just before she moved into McMahon Caring Centre, and she often reminisces about the time they shared together.
Enjoying life at McMahon
Marion has been a resident at McMahon Caring Centre for two and a half years now and her caring nature is evident in how she spends much of her time.
“I get books for Val next door from the big bookcase. There’re stacks of books there.
I give her a little piece of paper with what’s on the television each night.
Thomas around the corner, I also get him books. I cut oranges for them the way the chefs do it. Cutting the peel and the pips off and slicing it so it’s all edible.”
Marion also enjoys visiting the local shopping centre from time to time.
“I went out on the bus this morning. We went to Maddington. We had coffee and we sat and had a chat.”
For someone whose passion prior to living in a caring facility was cooking international dishes, Marion is complimentary to the meals now catered for her.
“The great part about the food is the number of choices. There’re 2 main courses every lunchtime and if you don’t like those you can order salad which is beautiful. It’s got everything: cheese, hardboiled egg, meat and all these vegetables. Or you can have sandwiches as they are or toasted.”
She is independent as much as possible, not only helping others but ensuring that she makes her own bed and partakes in her daily exercises.
“It gives me something to do. I can’t sit all day and do nothing.”
At Amaroo, our mission is to provide a positive and supportive environment for our residents like Marion, where their level of care changes as their needs do.
We understand that the decision to move into a residential aged care facility can be overwhelming and that’s why our friendly team are here to help you through the process.
Call us today on 1300 653 967 or book a tour with us here.