Leonie Doig filled her working days by caring for others, forming lifelong friendships and sharing laughs along the way.

Leonie initially joined Anglican Care as a volunteer at C.A. Brown with the goal of buying a new fridge for her young family.

Fast forward 41 years, and a few fridges later, she has retired from her position as an enrolled nurse.

“I’ve worked with some incredible people. I worked with some great leaders, great managers, or great matrons as they were called in the day,” Leonie says.

There was rarely a quiet moment as she took on a variety of roles throughout the years.

“I was there for 15 years at C.A. Brown as a nurse on the floor,” Leonie says.

“Then I injured myself and had to have surgery on my shoulder, and they retrained me in a clerical role, so I went over to administration and worked [in] that space for seven years.

“I was a supervisor for 11 years in Carey Bay, which I loved, and spent the rest of my time here at McIntosh Court.”

In times of hardship, Leonie knew the community would come together to support one another.

“We had the earthquake in 1989, and I can remember coming in off duty because I knew they’d need staff to be moving residents from A to B, which we did,” she recalls.

“Even my husband came with me to help with relocating the residents.

“Then we had fires around the area… and we transported residents to Jesmond Grove to get them in, because there were no fires near the building.

“I remember we had all these residents, and we slept on sleeping bags at Jesmond Grove to be there for the residents.

“So, it was a real community. Everyone pitched in, which was amazing.”

Ultimately, the people were at the centre of Leonie’s experience and continued to inspire her.

“When I first started, I was young and I thought that the object of the game was to get it all done really quickly,” she says.

“If you got your tasks done, that was [being] a good nurse.

“As I matured, I realised I was here for the residents.

“I’ve met and cared for some amazing people. You learn so much from people who have been here for so long and who have lived a totally different life to us.

“They’re the people that we can learn from.

“I was sad to say goodbye to my colleagues and the residents.

“It was a big move, but I’ve still got a lot of life in me, a lot of living to do.”

Leonie plans to spend her retirement travelling with the lifelong friends she made at Anglican Care.

Thank you, Leonie, for your long-term dedication and commitment to ensuring we deliver the care our community deserves.