Tuesday, April 26, 2022
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Dear Cecile, Brendan and Nigel,
I first met Jan in 1951 when she moved in across the road with her step grandmother, Mrs Tidy.
Jan was part of our family, coming the sister I always wanted.
We started our secondary education at Princess May Junior High School in 1952. We had a lot of fun traveling to and fro daily by train. We both wanted to do nursing, but were not yet 17.5 yrs of age. While we waited to be old enough, Jan worked at the Bank of NSW (Westpac) and we both lucky to sign on as stewardess on the Norwegian super phosphate ship Fern Plant in 1956. We had a memorable trip up to Christmas Island and back to Albany.
We commenced our training at Royal Perth Hospital in December 1957. We both enjoyed our hospital based training. On graduation, Jan moved to Sydney to do her midwifery, where she subsequently met Laurie. Sadly we never lived in the same State again. We kept in close contact by regular phone calls and infrequent visits, meeting her wonderful family.
Jan was a character, a great friend and a very important part of my life. I will miss her.
