November 27th, 2022Ruth leading lady in Ageing DisGracefully

RUTH Irving has come a long way. Raised on a farm at Mollongghip,
she is now gracing the front cover of Hepburn House’s latest calendar albeit disGracefully!
Ruth is pictured gleefully giving drivers the bird as she holds up traffic in her
mobility scooter.
The image has gone Australia-wide with publicity for the fundraising calendar
hitting newspapers and television shows – with Tommy Little even paying a visit
recently for a segment on The Project.
Since it aired on November 9, the segment has had 37,000 views and almost
1000 likes. Comments range from “these ladies had me cackling, I want the calendar”
and “brilliantly funny, love the old girls” to “this makes me so happy, this is how
every elderly person in care should be treated, their happiness is beautiful” and
“fabulous residents match the fabulous staff – they are all amazing”. Finishing with
“aged care as it should be, celebrating our elderly”.
But back to Ruth. She is the leading lady here. And already very well known in
her own right around these parts.
Ruth was born in Creswick on July 27, 1928 and has three older brothers, an
older sister, a twin brother, and a younger sister Doris who also lives at Hepburn
House.
Ruth left school at 14 to help out around the farm. She used to help her mother
cook lunch and dinner for the 16 men who worked on the farm. As well as milking
the dairy cows for her mother to make cream and butter, as a teenager, Ruth used
to play tennis to keep active and went dancing with her friends all the time for
entertainment.
Ruth first met Keith at a dance at the Hepburn Palais. They fell in love and
were married in 1955, when Ruth was 26 and Keith was 29. They had three
sons, Raymond, Ross and Allan and a daughter, Christine. They are now proud
grandparents of 10 and great-grandparents of four.
On their farm they mainly grew potatoes, along with oats, wheat and cattle, and
Ruth also had a big veggie garden for the family’s meals.
Now Ruth loves that someone else is cooking up home-style meals for her at
Hepburn House and especially likes not having to do the dishes. She also enjoys the
variety of activities on offer along with bus trips for coffee and cake in the afternoons.
Calendars are available from Hepburn House (weekdays only) and Blooms the
Chemist in Daylesford from Tuesday, November 22. They are $20.
To have a calendar/calendars posted within Australia send contact details, address
and details of purchase to reception@hepburnhouse.com.au