Nan - an introduction

At 97, Nan continues to live by her aunt’s loving message, ‘Adversity makes you stronger’.

Before Nan finished school, both of her parents had died (within two years of each other). Nan more than rose to the challenges and opportunities life presented her. Aunt Betty encouraged Nan to finish her education and move to Wellington at seventeen. She was sure that had her aunt not made that suggestion, she may have been in Dannevirke for the rest of her life.

Nan’s positive nature and strength of character helped her build a home and an active life filled with love, fun, family, friends and creativity. Nan is a quiet teacher of how to live life well, someone you are drawn to. In Nan’s words about living a long life ‘You learn to cope and that makes you a better person.’

This story starts with Nan’s wider family history eg of her aunts and sister, as they had a significant influence on Nan’s life and outcomes. We cover her mother’s family moving to New Zealand and the impact of the Napier earthquake on Nan and her family. Next, we look at Nan’s life in Dannevirke, covering her father’s photography, the decline of the family finances due to the depression, her schooling and the death of her parents. Nan spent her adult life in Wellington, moving there in 1942.

We learn about being a young single woman finding her feet at work and on the dance floor, before meeting her husband to be, Eddie. Together they build a life and a home in Point Howard, while Nan learnt lots as a mother. During the Sixties, Eddie built the family another house at Paraparaumu and Nan started getting her hands dirty with pottery, which continues to be a passion for her. We finish with Nan’s busy later life, taking up yoga, having Aunt Jenny come to stay and remaining active surrounded by her friends and family.