Todays Golden age session is of the amazing Marie. Her granddaughter had let me know that Marie always felt a special connection to horses, & interacting with them even though she didn't get many opportunities to do so. So, the wonderful Jane & Rob floated Destiny to the farm so that Marie could have some photos & pats with her.
Marie told me that it had been the most wonderful time & that the shoot had really made her day. She had initially been a little reserved upon arrival, but she was modelling like a pro by the end & loved dressing up.
Her order OAM (order of Australia medal) is something she is so incredibly proud of. She also wore the necklace Barney gave her to wear at their wedding. Which I absolutely loved.
Marie Therese Ross
Marie was born March 31st 1933, in Sydney. Her mum Teresa was from Ireland and was 16 when she came to Australia with her sister. They were orphans, both parents had passed, and they were
living with their 3 brothers. A priest encouraged them to leave for Australia, so eventually they did.
They met their older sister Clare who was a nun in Sydney. Teresa got a job at Wentworth Hotel, which is where she met Marie’s father Albert, originally from Queensland.
Teresa continued to work at the Wentworth Hotel doing domestic work, and Albert was a wharf labourer in Sydney. Teresa was 36 years old when Marie was born in 1933.
They lived in Lavender Bay (Sydney) for a long time but moved around a lot. Marie has fond memories of going to Luna Park and the swimming pool with her mum, where she would buy her fresh
honeycomb.
Marie was raised in a very religious, Catholic home. She and her mum never missed mass.
Things were tough, and they were poor, as this was during the depression. Her father was an alcoholic, which made life very hard for her and her mum. Marie had a difficult relationship with
him, and she and her mum left multiple times.
During her school life, she learned to sing and play the piano. She has wonderful memories with her mum Teresa, whom she was very close to.
Marie describes her as a wonderful person who taught her to sew and knit and was her constant companion. Teresa did her best to provide her with everything she could, even though
things were so difficult with Albert.
Marie spent her younger years playing piano, sewing, making her own clothes, and helping her mum tailor clothes for other people. In the school holidays, she would work at ‘Farmers’ department store, at the button counter. At the age of 16, she left school and won a scholarship to the Cathedral Business College, where she learnt shorthand typing. After a year, she became a secretary.
When she was 16, her mum encouraged her to join the local Catholic youth group, which she loved. 2 years later, she met Barney. Barney was a country boy, born in Tamworth, and would help out at the youth group while working as a truck driver. One day, Barney was teaching a square-dancing class there. He asked Marie to join in, and the rest is history!
Barney began to see her home from youth group and from her work in the city. Their first date was going to the pictures. In 1953, when Marie was 20, they got married. 5 years later, and after two miscarriages, they were blessed with 3 children. She always dreamt of being a mum and always says Barney was an amazing husband and father.
In 1973, she and Barney found themselves wanting another baby but weren’t going to have another of their own, so they began looking into adoption. They first started as a remand home and did this for some time, until beginning short-term fostering.
Barney was working as product manager at the time, and Marie was home with the children.
They fostered young children and babies for many years, from all walks of life. Sometimes they’d have two babies at a time, or a baby would leave in the morning, and another would come that afternoon. Every baby became part of the family, and goodbyes were always hard.
Marie and Barney ended up adopting 2 of the babies they fostered during this time.
In November of 1999, Marie and Bear were awarded an OAM (The Order of Australia Medal) for all their work in foster care. This was a huge achievement and a momentous occasion for everyone. They also received certificates over the years from the council for their incredible work with fostering.
Marie was a foster carer for 48 years and has fostered around 200 babies. It was her purpose in
life, and she loved it deeply.
Not long after receiving the OAM her husband sadly passed away in January 2000.
In 2007, she discovered a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She had a mastectomy, four rounds of chemo, and lost all her hair and eyebrows. She was fostering a baby through it all and was crocheting a blue shawl for this baby as soon as she woke from surgery.
She feels incredibly lucky and grateful, and thanks god and her doctors every day for saving her
life.
In 2021, at the age of 88, Marie had a horrific car accident that forced her to stop fostering. She would’ve continued for as long as she could if it wasn’t for this unfortunate event.
Today, Marie spends her time reading (usually a good murder mystery), sewing, and knitting clothes for her grandkids. You’ll often find her at the hairdresser’s, which is also like a social and
book club for her! She still has a great network of friends, most of them known through foster care.
She is blessed with 10 grandkids and 14 great-grandkids, whom she feels extremely lucky
to have.
And to think that she was an only child! All the foster babies she has had over the years feel like family too, and she still keeps in contact with a lot of them.
Marie has touched so many lives, helped so many children, and has had a truly incredible life
