Doreen Martin.
DOREEN MAY MARTIN (previously Hodge, nee Anderson)
November 22, 1931 Wellington NSW to March 27, 2012 Bundaberg, QLD
Doreen May Anderson was born on November 22, 1931 to Alfred and Madeleine Anderson who lived at Fingerpost.
Doreen attended primary school at Suntop. She drove her siblings to school in a horse and buggy which she found embarrassing as other students drove a sulky which was considered better.
She did her intermediate at Wellington High School when it was in Percy Street, then went on the attend Wellington Technical College where she studied dressmaking, white work (underwear), tailoring and millinery.
This was put to good use as she made all her own clothes and later clothes for her daughters.
On September 24, 1955 Doreen married Darcy Reginald Hodge at the Methodist Church in Wellington. Darcy and Doreen moved to ‘Bungieboomah’, Gollan and had five children - Ann, Lynette, Ruth, Sharon and Phillip.
Darcy died in July 1967, aged just 53.
Doreen moved the family to 79 Gobolion Street, Wellington in January 1968.
On January 3, 1970 Doreen married Raymond Martin from Curra Creek, at the Methodist Church, Wellington.
This marriage produced another daughter - Kathryn.
Doreen and Ray loved to dance to Frank Bourke and his White Rose Orchestra and would travel the district to where they were performing.
Doreen also loved the Chicken Dance and would do it whenever possible.
In April 1983 Doreen, Ray, Sharon, Phillip and Kathryn moved to Fagg Street, North Bundaberg, Queensland.
In the early days after moving, Doreen and Ray used to travel back to Wellington regularly to visit family and their life-long friends Ned and Thel Giddings.
With age catching up with them Doreen and Ray closed the nursery in 1989, and continued to live in the house at Fagg Street until November 2000.
They then lived at Faithfull Crescent for six years before moving into a unit at Sugarland Gardens Retirement Village.
Doreen loved cooking and sewing and entered in the local shows at Wellington, Dubbo and Mudgee etc, winning many prizes.
She also loved her garden and flower arranging.
Doreen played tennis for many years and loved to watch tennis on television. She would stay up all night or set the alarm for the early hours to watch it.
Doreen’s occupations were many and varied - initially after Darcy’s death she sold ‘Kindness’ cleaning products, driving a red mini moke throughout Wellington.
She was also the sewing teacher at Wellington Primary School from January 1969 to April 1974.
Later she and Ray set up and operated a plant nursery at their home in Wellington.
In April 1983 the couple purchased an Orchid nursery in Bundaberg which they operated until 1989.
Doreen joined many party plan and direct selling organisations including Luwasa, Amway, Whey Lite, Manatech and Gourmet.
She also did market research for Morgan gallop poll and mystery shopping.
Doreen loved her family, was a very loyal and honest person and would do a good deed rather than a bad one.
Doreen was buried on March 30, 2012 at Bundaberg Cemetery after a service at the Uniting Church on Barolan Street.
Doreen is survived by her husband Ray, children and their partners Ann and Lance Vincent, Lynette and Garry Stephens, Ruth and Brab Edwards, Sharon and John Carroll, Phillip and Tracey Hodge and Kathryn and Clinton Church, 16 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, as well as two sisters Enid Parkes and Val Fletcher and two sister’s-in-law Betty and Dot Anderson.