91-year-old Joyce Barron has lived in the Mandurah home she has loved for 46 years, and she’s still able to remain living independently with the support of RAAFA Connect.

Joyce, whose husband of 68 years passed away in 2015, receives home support services three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and on top of that receives cleaning help once a fortnight.

“The girls are absolutely marvellous and I well and truly recommend them all,” she said.

“I see Nancy, Lynn and Maureen, and sometimes Cathy, and they are all such lovely ladies and so helpful to me.”

Born in North Fremantle, Joyce has lived in Mandurah for 68 years. Her daughter takes her shopping regularly and she sees her son nearly every day, as well as regularly seeing her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

And although, by her own admission, she is not as agile as she used to be, Joyce still gets out in the garden a few times a week to keep it neat and tidy.

“I’ve always loved gardening, I used to grow my vegetables and although I don’t do that anymore, I still really enjoy pottering around in it,” she said.

During her lifetime, Joyce has also become an avid collector, in particular of salt-and-pepper shakers. Astoundingly, she is now the proud owner of around 4,000 sets which are displayed around her home in numerous glass cabinets.

“A friend bought me a set that I liked and then my mum died and I received a couple more, and that was pretty much the start of it. Some are old and some are new, some are expensive and some are cheap, but I love all of them and can’t say I have a favourite set.

“Many have been bought from swap meets which I used to go to all of the time, at Canning Vale, Fremantle, Kardinya and all over the place really. You can’t beat a good swap meet, they are so much fun.”

For more information about our RAAFA Connect services, and what we can tailor to suit you, call the Connect team on 9288 8470.