By ALESHA CAPONE
A BRIMBANK great-grandmother who lived through WWI and WWII has celebrated her centenary.
Hatice Yusuf, who until recently lived in St Albans, now resides at the Keilor House Nursing Home. She was born in Petra, North Cyprus, on 31 March 1913.
Mrs Yusuf’s eldest son, Nihat Esat, said his mother worked on her father’s farm while she was young.
In 1935, Hatice married Esat Yusuf and Nihat was born two years later.
Mrs Yusuf gave birth to her daughters Guray, Gokcen and Sohret during WWII.
“She remembers the war when the Germans came and bombed them – they went into the trenches and hid for safety,” Nihat said.
“Bombs fell 500 metres from the house and everything shook.”
During WWII, Mrs Yusuf’s husband Esat helped shelter villagers and soldiers in the trenches and received a bravery medal from the British King.
Mr and Mrs Yusuf welcomed their youngest child, son Hussein, into the world in 1953 – but sadly Esat died 11 years later.
After her husband passed away, Mrs Yusuf worked in the fruit fields of Cyprus to support her family.
In 1972, Nihat migrated to Australia and the rest of family followed him over.
“When Mum first came here, she left three years later, but wanted to come back again and has been here ever since. She loves Australia,” Nihat said.
Mrs Yusuf has seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
“I have been blessed to be able to witness my family grow from one generation to the next, and I couldn’t be happier having them surround me with their love,” Mrs Yusuf said.
“I would like to thank Keilor House Nursing Home for holding a very special 100th birthday party for me.”
Nihat said his mother’s advice on how to live to 100 was simply about being healthy.
“The only thing she says is that she has never been a big eater, she always ate small meals, and walked every day until two years ago,” he said.
