Beryl Sparks is a lady of few words but many years behind her – 100 to be exact.
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She celebrated her 100th birthday today with family and friends at Pioneer Lodge.
The Area News had the honour of interviewing the lovely Mrs Sparks on her special day.
But, when asked if she had any words of wisdom on such a momentous day, Mrs Sparks laughed:
“No I haven’t.”
“Just to thank everybody for coming,” she said.
Instead, Mrs Sparks’ son, Peter, gave us insight into what kind of life his mother has lived, and who she really is.
“She’s lived a fairly interesting life,” Mr Sparks said.
Mrs Sparks was born in England, fell in love and married her husband Cliff just after World War II started, in 1939.
The family moved to Australia, to Narrandera in 1985, and from there moved to Griffith in 2006.
Mr Sparks explains that his mother has lived life to the fullest.
“I asked her one day, ‘what do you regret?’ and she said, ‘absolutely nothing’”, Mr Sparks said.
“Her motto in life is, ‘put others first’ and ‘everything happens for the best.’”
Mrs Sparks has two children, four grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
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Mrs Sparks is also quite the charitable lady, and has been involved in the Country Women’s Association (CWA), sang in a group choir and in competitions and, according to Activities Officer Mary-Anne Sinca, she “knits a lot of squares for Wrap with Love.”
“As a bundle we take them down to the library and they make them up as blankets for the poor and the cold – and they’re all in pinks and purples,” Ms Sinca said.
And, it seems Mrs Sparks has a bit of a sense of humour.
“One day she took a photo of the sky and sent it back to England, and all it was was a blue sky – nothing else, no clouds – and she said, ‘This is what the sky looks like in Australia.’”
Speaking with Ms Sinca, we got to learn a bit more about the birthday lady.
“She is a very quiet lady – really special, very beautiful, very kind,” she said.
Mrs Sparks enjoys romance novels and goes to the hairdresser every week.
“She never misses an appointment,” Ms Sinca said.
Mrs Sparks seemed to play another joke however, for Ms Sparks usually wears her favourite colour, lilac.
“Purples, pinks, lilac are her favourite colours,” Ms Sinca said.
But, on her special day she sported a gorgeous bright red coat instead while all the guests at her party wore purples and pinks.
Mrs Sparks received a number of letters of congratulations for her big day, and the family isn’t quite sure what she will do with all her correspondence – especially the letter from Queen Elizabeth II.
The Sparks family would like to thank the staff at Pioneers Lodge for hosting the event and for all their love and support over the years.