There was an official celebration of life when Marian Keane celebrated her 100th birthday last Monday at the Sealevel restaurant, Cronulla.
Mrs Keane celebrated her centenary with her family and friends with about 60 supporters of the Celebration of Life charity which supports the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute.
There was a reason her big birthday bash was coupled with a Celebration of Life gathering.
Both Mrs Keane and her daughter, Yvonne Van Ryan are long-term survivors of breast cancer.
They were both diagnosed with breast cancer within two months of each other in 1996.
After they recovered, Mrs Van Ryan, who lives half the year in Florida and the rest of the time in Australia, decide to organise the annual Celebration of Life fundraiser the Westmead Hospital Breast Institute which she has done for the past 17 years.
Mrs Keane was born near Wollongong and worked during World War II as a forewoman at Bligh Steel Wool.
When she was 22 she married husband Robert Keane three months before he went off to serve in the army in WWII in the Middle East and New Guinea.
After the war they settled in Monterey and raised their children Robert, Vivien, Suzanne and Yvonne. Mr Keane drove his own cab for Legion. He passed away about 20 years ago aged 84.
Mrs Keane’s daughter, Suzanne Denny described her mother as “very stoic and a strong personality.
“No matter what happens, she battles on,” Suzanne said.
“She raised the children and was always involved in things including woodwork, millinery, dressmaking and cake decorating.
“She liked visiting Ramsgate RSL.”
Daughter Yvonne said she and her mother will mark 20 years as cancer survivors this year.
“Mum was diagnosed with breast cancer in September, 1996 and I was diagnosed in December 1996,” she said.
“When I called her from America three months after she had surgery to tell her that I also had been diagnosed with breast cancer, she said, “Piece of cake.” She didn’t want me crying over spilt milk. She just gets on with it. When she went through cancer she didn’t tell everybody. She just got on with it.
“The day before I was diagnosed with breast cancer my husband, Henri was diagnosed with brain cancer. We faced a year of me having chemo and Henri have radiation.”
After Mr Van Ryan died, Yvonne decided to get involved in organising the annual Celebration of Life fundraiser on her annual summer visit to Australia.
At her birthday last Monday, Mrs Keane asked people not to bring gifts but instead to make a donation to the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute.
“She didn’t want any fuss about herself,” Suzanne said. “She’s a very capable person.
The family love attending the annual Celebration of Life even organised by Yvonne.
“It’s a big event,” Suzanne said. “It’s like a wedding every year.”
