Meet Ron
3 February 2022Recently we had the pleasure of catching up with Esther, whose Uncle Ron, is one of our wonderful Whinnieknowe residents.
Ron, 102, has made a name for himself at the centre as ‘the nicest, most humble man’ and we are delighted to tell you his story.
Born on 29th November 1919, Ron was brought up in the West Coast of Scotland in the charming town of Plockton. The youngest of 7, his family were very close and all helped out growing their own potatoes, working around the house and making special memories playing music together, usually the accordion or fiddle.
Ron’s father made his living as a crofter, but was so much more than that too. It gave Ron an appreciation for hard work that he then took with him in to his career as a joiner.
This changed however when Ron was drafted into the army at the start of WWII.
It was a horrendous time as Ron was captured as a prisoner of war in Japan, a time Esther told us he didn’t talk about until he came home in 2019.
She went on to tell us some of the stories and how his experience as a joiner was a useful skill set to have in prison as it meant he was able to get more rice for his work, perhaps to keep him strong to do more work for them.
As a Roman Catholic he was also able to attend church on a Sunday when able.
“He’s a very spiritual man" that’s how Esther describes uncle Ron.
After the war he returned to his native Scotland and found himself in Lethen estate, Nairn. Sometime later he met his wife to be, Pearl Stewart of Dulsie who originated from Canada.
They married & spent many years in Nairnshire together, eventually moving back to Canada in 1958.
They had a fantastic life together, building their own house, had two gorgeous dogs, and spent time dancing together at the weekend “he was a very contented man” Esther told us.
They lived together for many happy years, until sadly Pearl passed away in 2014. It wasn’t long after this that he then lost his son, Stuart, to cancer at the age of 60. As you can imagine it was another incredibly difficult and isolating time for such a family man.
Being with family and loved ones is so important to Ron, so when his daughter in law, Mary, decided to move to the UK he decided at the age of 99 that it was time to return to land of his birth.
Ron travelled to the UK with his grandson, Mark where his nieces & others met at the Airport and he was then taken directly to Whinnieknowe, our CrossReach Care Home, where he had a warm welcome.
To give him the best support, Esther had been looking at care homes and found Whinnieknowe, a local home which she was able to secure for him.
It has been such a difficult time for Ron with so many changes let alone going into lockdown isolation just 10 months after moving back to Scotland. He was really hoping to reconnect with people he knew from his past but found many are sadly now gone.
Even so, Ron was home in time to celebrate his 100th birthday with all his loved ones around him.
“We had a huge celebration for him turning 100, that was our last big party before COVID and the first lockdown just 3 months later.”
Sarah, Activities Co-Ordinator at Whinnieknowe
The introduction of lockdown and isolation meant he was unable to get out for exercise, speak to people and do things that he can talk to family about. Because of that, his mobility reduced and didn’t really have anything to talk about which was hard for the family to see. Even through this Ron carries on.
His grandson Mark, who brought him over from Canada, and a lot of other family still live there to this day so Mark has been unable to see his Grandad since his 100th birthday . Thankfully Mark has recently visited along with other members of the family , his Mum Mary & sister Jackie. His nieces Esther & Rosemary enjoy visiting as often as we can, an Amazing Uncle "I'm very proud of".
What a remarkable and loved man, with an incredible story to tell.
