Celebration time as Bromsgrove's former nurse Grace Cooper turns 106 - The Bromsgrove Standard

Celebration time as Bromsgrove's former nurse Grace Cooper turns 106

Bromsgrove Editorial 23rd Jul, 2020 Updated: 23rd Jul, 2020   0

CELEBRATIONS have been taking place at Bromsgrove’s Burcot Lodge Care Home where Grace Cooper celebrated her 106th birthday.

A special socially-distanced cello concert has been held at the home for Grace and other residents.

The team at Burcot also arranged for a Guide Dog for the Blind to be sponsored and named ‘Cooper’ in her honour.




According to the Office of National Statistics, Grace joins an elite group of just 820 people in the UK who are over 105.

Grace was born on July 21, 1914, in Winnipeg in Canada and came to England with her parents when she was 16 years old.


She trained as a nurse at Hampstead General Hospital and worked at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Northfield, ending her career as a matron.

Grace, who was married to a Baptist Minister and is mum to two step-daughters, credits her long life to a happy marriage, hard work, good living and to eating fresh bread.

Victoria Osbourne, Burcot Lodge’s general manager, said, “Despite current social distancing restrictions, all the staff made every effort to make Grace feel special on her big day – turning 106th is such an amazing achievement.

“A member of our team helped to style Grace’s hair in our on-site salon, she looked wonderful and it was a fantastic day for us all.”

 

Grace was a nurse both before and after the NHS came in

When the NHS celebrated its 70th birthday in 2018 we interviewed Grace about what working in healthcare was like prior to the National Health Service being introduced and afterwards.

To read that story and listen to our audio interview with Grace, click here.

 

The Lodge at Burcot Grange

The Lodge at Burcot Grange in Greenhill is a 54 bedroom care home which provides residential care, dementia care, day care and respite care.

It is part of the Cinnamon Care Collection and has a 99 per cent ‘excellent’ rating on the UK’s care home reviews website carehome.co.uk – click here to see the reviews.

For more information visit www.cinnamoncc.com/burcotgrange

Online Editions

Catch up on your local news by reading our e-editions on the Bromsgrove Standard

Reader Travel

Check out all of the latest reader travel offers to get your hands on some free gifts

Public Notices

View and download all of the public notices in the Bromsgrove Standard

Recruitment

Find a career you'll love with our free career finder website