By Alesha Capone
A BRIMBANK resident has paid tribute to her grandmother, who recently passed away at the age of 103 years.
Patricia Bugeja, the only grandchild of Maria Visintin, described her grandmother as “a strong and amazing woman” and “kind hearted”.
Mrs Visintin, who died last month, lived for more than a decade at the Rosary Home for the Aged in Keilor Downs.
She was born in 1907 in San Giorgio di Nogaro, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in Italy.
She moved to Trieste in her teenage years and worked in restaurants as an assistant cook, before marrying Giacomo Visintin.
Their daughter Marcella, who was born in 1933, emigrated to Australia with her husband Filippo Esposito during the ’50s.
Mr and Mrs Visintin then moved to Australia in 1960, just in time for the birth of Patricia, their only grandchild. Mrs Visintin looked after Patricia while her husband, son-in-law and their daughter all went out to work. In 1985, Mrs Visintin became a proud great-grandmother to Simon, who is now 25 years old. Mrs Bugeja said her grandmother “settled quickly into the Australian way of life, quickly made many new friends and was well known and liked in the community”.
On her 100th birthday, Mrs Visintin attributed “her longevity to never having been on a diet in her life and to a glass of red wine a day”.
Sadly, Mrs Bugeja said her mother Marcella passed away in April 2007 after a long battle with cancer, missing her 100th birthday.
Mrs Bugeja said her family “would like to take this opportunity to thank the sisters and all the staff at the Rosary Home for taking such good care of Maria and for all the support they have given the family”.
“In her 70s she joined the local pensioners’ club and loved going on trips around the countryside,” she said.
“She was a loving, loyal and devoted wife to her husband Giacomo, who passed away in 1990.
“She was dignified and strong, she didn’t shy from life’s challenges, she understood that her happiness was connected to those around her.
“She was very funny and had a quick wit, she was always making us laugh.”
