Mary Crosbie Senior's memory board

Mum was born 1 Oct 1922 in Manley. Her parents Guy & Marjorie King had 2 daughters, Mary and her sister Beverly. They moved to Adelaide and grew up in Springfield and Goodwood. Mum loved her Granny in Goodwood and remembers her huge property full of furniture and treasures bought from overseas. Mum trained in nursing at RAH and apart from the traumas of the first few days, she loved her nursing ....................she loved life, and dancing and running hard to enjoy every moment. Each time dad and I look at the bluff, we laugh at her story of running up the sea side barefoot at midnight! Always giving and compassionate, mum was one of the first volunteers for Meals on Wheels, and annual organiser and collector for Red Cross. Before meeting and marrying dad, mum was fearless.... A trait that helped her to partner dad in life, through the many challenges they took on. Mum agreed to marry dad after a life altering flight from Melbourne to Adelaide via Nhill - as dad tells it, she was too terrified to fly back to Melbourne and after a walk on the Torrens with her mother, weighing up the pros and cons of marrying dad, mum accepted his proposal. They started their married life sharing a house at Largs Bay, moving to another shared home at Alberton before buying the house and attached surgery at Cheltenham. When we moved to Tea Tree Gully, it was to a new home that mum and dad had designed and built. Mum's flair for interior design and her love of gardening turned each of our homes into a piece of paradise. In the late 1980's, they moved to Robe - it was devastating for them to leave their beautiful home at Tea Tree Gully and their first Robe home was a rental house near the beach. Sparty their golden retriever adopted them when he was a pup and showed mum and dad the joys of walking the beach in Robe - the local fishermen became dad's patients and plied mum and dad with crayfish (when it was legal to give their own catch away) .....They happily became part of the Robe community and built another gorgeous home before moving to Victor in the 90's. In their early married life, mum and dad chose the land and built a holiday home at Victor where the other locals thought she was dad's labourer - she was extremely fit and strong and worked tirelessly. The original weekender became their home in the 90's when they relocated from Robe. Brian and Sue now live there and have enjoyed taking mum and dad home each week to enjoy the view. We'll miss mum's company on the balcony and in front of the fire inside on a cold rainy day. Mum was an inspiration - beautiful inside and out, she could have easily modelled for Vogue. She was highly intelligent and well read - she could knowledgeably discuss politics and international affairs. Mum ran the day to day operations and financial management of the surgeries with precision. But she didn't just manage the medical businesses, she was the nurse, the confidant of patients needing a shoulder to cry on, and she ran the pathology side of the clinics way before most clinics even thought of having pathology services available. Mum was never afraid to work hard in any area, through to driving the tractor in 40 degree heat at Virginia when dad decided to try their hands at almond farming .....it was so hot, she sometimes stripped to the bare necessities which their neighbours though was fabulous - mum was always a stunner. As our mum she was the best. There was never a moment that any of us didn't know she loved us. One of my greatest memories is mum telling me last week that she will love me forever. She was always there for us all - to rescue us from danger, to quiet our fears and hold us though heart break. Mum comforted me when one of my oldest and closest friends died, and through my broken heart from broken promises ... And celebrated my happiness at finding Brian who she loved as her own. Brian sadly lost both his parents 14 years ago and he has loved her like his own mum. We both miss her but her memory and love will be with us always. David and Geoff can tell you countless similar stories. As a mother in law, Brian, Christine and Vonnie the mother of Geoff's kids will tell you how much she welcomed, love and supported each of them. As Granny to Mandy, Emma and Nicki, they know the joy of mum's unconditional and boundless love - they know the bliss of her hugs and the radiance of her smile. It's sad that her great grandchildren won't remember her as well, but they will hear all about her love, compassion, intelligence and courage. As dad's adored and adoring wife and life partner, mum was beautiful, loving and giving throughout their years together. Dad had sadly lost his first wife Norma. He had been deeply in love with Norma and while she was dying in hospital, he was embarrassed and shocked not only to hear Norma talk of how wonderful nurse King was, but to hear a voice telling him that she was going to be his next wife. Dad didn't meet mum until after Norma died but did remember the voice and so he wrote to her asking to meet. Mum kept the letter all her life. They spent 63 and a half happy years together - they travelled to the Antarctic, Mexico and Darwin and many other places, they built homes, made and lost fortunes, walked on beaches, flew, sailed, drank champagne and ate crayfish. At times they argued, like everyone, but they were very rarely apart and they have enjoyed a fabulous, never dull, adventurous life. We will all miss mum - Dad will miss his adored Mary more than anyone, but she will be with him and with us all forever.