As her children grew , Val undertook many long-term pursuits including starting Clovers Tennis Club in 1975 , working in the school canteen , reading at Notre Dame Church ( always the second reading as this was the shortest ) and volunteering at Vinnies on Kooyong Road .
Through these endeavours , Val made many friends who she cherished .
Another 30-year pursuit of Val ’ s is one that many might call the hardest she ever had to face – supporting her beloved Fremantle Dockers .
Val and Ellie also often embarked overseas to their favourite holiday destination with family and friends . A beautiful overseas island known to many - as Rottnest .
However , in 2014 the pair took their first and only international holiday to England and Ireland , a place Val had always dreamed to go .
Between 1997-2002 Val and Ellie welcomed their six grandchildren – Hayden , Aaron , Brendan , Taysha , Hayley and Joshua .
To these six , ‘ going to Grandma ’ s house ’ was like winning the lottery .
Whether it was going to the park , walking to Love Street , catching the bus , playing strip jack ( Grandma ’ s version ), go fish and other card games , chips and gravy , volunteering at Vinnies , going to tennis , tic tacs , collecting snails , playing with toys , kicking the footy or playing cricket across the park , Orange Juice , reading books they ’ ll remember forever ( including Three Billy Goats Gruff and Cheese Please ), watching The Aristocats , sneaking lollies from the top of the fridge , Milos , sleepovers with ice cream and jelly , four square , baths , frozen juice boxes or learning a new song , ditty or phrase - home again home again , jiggity jig - the house was always filled with love , laughter and good times .
If they weren ’ t at Grandma and Grandad ’ s , Grandma and Grandad were with them , attending weekend sports , assemblies , school sports carnivals , birthdays , Grandparents Day , and any other major life events .
In more recent years , Val had the immense joy of watching some of her grandchildren become parents themselves . Great Grandchildren Kiara , Hunter , Jayke , Nate and Linkin were welcomed to Great Grandma ’ s with open-arms and able to experience some of the same love , ditties , toys , fun and high-chairs as their parents .