Bendigo resident Sheila Fletcher to celebrate 100th birthday

It was only recently that the former nurse started to think much of the milestone moment.

“I’ve had other things on my mind,” she said. 

But, as her house began to fill with flowers and cards from her many well-wishers, her birthday started to take on more significance. 

Mrs Fletcher was dressed in her finest suit on Sunday, as her family prepared to spoil her with a special afternoon tea.

She had a spray of flowers affixed to the lapel of her jacket, and not a strand of her meticulously styled hair was out of place. 

Mrs Fletcher was the eldest of seven children.

She and her youngest sibling, Esme, are the only two still living.

Bendigo has been Mrs Fletcher’s home for 80 years.

She moved to the city to complete her training at the Bendigo Base Hospital.

Reading all the birthday cards at the weekend brought back happy memories, especially a card sent by a family for whom Mrs Fletcher was a bridesmaid in the late ’30s.