Luck the secret to a long life
9 May 2023
An aged care resident at Grampians Health’s Dimboola campus believes luck has helped her enjoy a long life.
Nancy Pilmore, who turned 100 on the weekend, has lived in Dimboola for 80 years after moving there to work in a clothing factory.
Born Nancy Eileen Crocker at Hopetoun on May 6, 1923, she lived there until age five, when her family moved to Jeparit after her father was transferred in his job with the Country Roads Board.
While working in Dimboola Nancy met her husband Clive and they married at Jeparit’s Church of England when she was 25. The couple honeymooned in Adelaide.
While working at the clothing factory, Nancy made overalls for the army before becoming a mum and housewife. When her daughter went to school and her husband was away in his truck, she began cleaning other people’s homes.
Nancy said her greatest memories from those days were of playing tennis at Arkona with Clive and their close friends Roley and Valeria Klinge. Roley is depicted in full colour on Arkona’s silo art.
“I loved tennis but I enjoyed a variety of sports including golf, lawn bowls and badminton,” Nancy said. “These days I enjoy the sunshine and when the young children come to visit.”
Nancy, who also has two grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, said she didn’t really know the secret to a long life.
“I didn’t drink much, only a shandy at the tennis some weekends,” she said. “But I think a lot of it comes down to luck”.