Sylvia Lovenfosse - Words of Wisdom

This week I caught up with Sylvia Lovenfosse.

Age: 84
Where were you born? Kalgoorlie, WA

What are the most important lessons you've learned in life? To treat the people you meet decently.

What is your favourite childhood memory? Probably going to the little beach that was just down from us, it would have been less than a kilometre. I would go down there exploring with my siblings, we would spend the day picking up different items.

What did you enjoy about Christmas as a child? Just the excitement of Christmas, the build-up, I loved it. We always had a big Christmas dinner and we always had chicken on the table. We didn’t get huge presents, my parents just couldn’t afford it, though I can remember mum taking us into Adelaide, that was a big deal to go into Adelaide.

What did you get up to when you were young? Well we lived in a beach suburb, so our weekends were spent down on the beach, I never learnt to swim until I was nine years old though. The beach was different, it didn’t have the huge waves that NSW beaches did.

What did you want to be when you grew up? A Nurse, from the age of four years old, I was in hospital getting a hernia repaired and I came home and said I’m going to be a nurse! Mum and Dad said no you’re not!! *laughs*

What was your first job? A Nurse, I started as a 15-year-old.

I used to top Science at my high school, my Science Teacher said to me ‘you’re not coming back next year?’ I said no, my parents can’t afford for me to stay at school any longer, not long later he told me about this hospital that I first started at, I was interviewed, and I was straight in. By the time I had finished and was old enough to officially train, I was doing all sorts of things. I was a Nurse all my life. It was 10-hour day, but I didn’t think anything of it, I thought it was wonderful because that’s all I ever wanted to do. *smiles*

What’s the secret to a happy marriage? My husband spent a lot of time away from home, *laughs* I don’t know if that has anything to do with it.

How did you meet your husband? I met Phillip (always known as Phil) when I was 17 and he was 22. I was working in the Wards at the Hospital in Broken Hill; he came in from the bush to have his appendix out. I met him the next morning... He was persistent in asking me to go out with him, I would say no but eventually I did. He smoked, and none of my family smoked and I thought, no I don’t want to date a smoker... 18 months later we got engaged. *laughs*

Who is the person who influenced your life the most? Why? My parents, they gave their life to us, it wasn’t easy raising four kids, especially in those days. Everything went in to raising us kids.