Yesterday I had the beautiful Patricia in my greenhouse for a Golden age portrait. Patricia's memory is not what it once was, so her daughters helped capture her story.
Patricia Fay Hilton was born
29/7/1935 in Kalgoorlie to Mavis & Edward (Teddy ) Trenholme .
Her siblings were Kevin, Teddy, Richard, Ray, Kerry & Joyce .
Her dearly loved dad was tragically killed while Motorcycle Track riding (a memorial ride is still held in his name to this day) .
Sadly, life changed for the worse, at this time , with her mother becoming an alcoholic & unkind mother, and Kerry dying of Leukaemia.
The family eventually moved to Abermain.
Patricia left home at around 15 , found a guardian angel in Molly & Jack Scott , who gave her a job at a milk bar at Kurri , but it broke her heart to leave her siblings. Patricia for a time moved to Newcastle and worked at another milk bar owned by Molly & Jack.
Soon after, Patricia met her soulmate, John Hilton , who had the biggest heart in the world .
Being a jack of all trades plus a hard working underground miner, John built a house, room by room, and all the siblings moved in, at given times , but she raised 3 old sister Joyce as their own .
Patricia & John had 3 children of their own John 1954 , Debbie 1956, & Lynne 1957 .
Life was tough, but happiness & work ethics were instilled in everyone & they never felt poor.
Patricia went on to work at Bradmill textile company Katie’s dress shop.
Patricia's children were 8, 9 & 12 when their Aunt Joyce moved out & got married. The boys & their families never forgot what Patricia & John did for them. Patricia & John bought the house next door for her younger brother, to have a home of his own, when he lost his way, and was very lonely. In his last years , he had the family & love he didn’t have as a youngster.
As life ticked by, the family always had laughter, love and friends. The children had good schooling, memorable caravanning holidays & felt special that their home was always open for friends.
Late in life, John still excelled & become a mines inspector as well as building, repairing & maintaining the house & mum became a supervisor too.
Following the strong work ethics, all of their children embarked on successful lives & careers and Patricia & John, travelled a lot, which they thoroughly deserved.
Once their 8 grandchildren were born, most holidays were finished & they became devoted grandparents, being involved as much as they could. Always there to lend a hand, babysit & once again, teach that love and laughter were everything.
Then the great grandchildren arrived and completely stole their hearts, as they we retired, their life revolved around there 16 great grandchildren.
On 13/1/20 all their hearts were broken when dad passed due to heart issues
Patricia's daughters said their Dad would have been so proud of mum, as she leant to change a light globe, cook breakfast & grocery shop.
But their hearts were broken and things never remained the same, as the pool and gardens & home slowly become too much for Patricia to manage .
These days Patricia lives at Mt Carmel Nursing Home. She is super friendly to everyone she meets, a social butterfly & loves her bling.
She loves posing for pics with everyone …. Because she’s so young.
