YOUNG AT HEART FOR THESE 100 YEAR OLDS

There are three centenarians living at the Uniting Wirreanda Retirement Village at West Pennant Hills, Dorice Noy turned 103 in January but joining her centenarian club recently have been fellow residents, May Faichney and John MacArthur.

May Faichney celebrated her 100th birthday a few weeks ago, Up until a few months ago she was living at her own home in Carlingford and cooking her own meals.

Her advice for a happy life is: “Always tell the truth and be nice to people, they will be nice back.”

May was born in Scotland on September 14, 1919 and was just five years old when her mother died.

She and her older brother and sister were looked after their fraternal grandmother. “She was very good to us,” said May who remembers running away from school and back home on more than one occasion.

She later found herself in Australia as a young mum when her husband, who made golf clubs, was asked by the Slazenger company to transfer to Sydney.

“We had no idea what we were coming out to,” said May.“It was a great experience coming out by ship.”

The company put them and their daughter Anne, then 5 years old, up in Rushcutter’s Bay until they built their home in Carlingford.

“I was very homesick because I was so lonely at first,” said Mrs Faichney. “When we moved to Carlingford in 1953 the postman would deliver the mail on horseback and the milkman and the bread would be delivered by horse and cart.”

Her husband was a great golfer and she played golf for a while too. She has two grandchildren and two great, grandchildren. John MacArthur turned 100 in August and also had a special birthday tea at Wirreanda.

When World War 2 broke out John joined the army and was a sergeant.

His company was in charge of defending an experimental Radar unit, located on an island off the coast of New Guinea. After the war, he returned to Sydney and worked in sales for a large supplier of pharmaceuticals before he started his own business and had a chain of shops selling ladies fashion.

He and his wife, Nerissa moved to their holiday house on the Central Coast when he retired but he moved to Wirreanda when his wife passed away.

Their daughter, Marilyn, passed away, in 2008. John has two grandsons, Ryan and Andrew, and a great-granddaughter, due in January.