Emily Duffy (93), of Dunedin, holds Isabella Scott (3
months), of Queensland, surrounded by (from left) Shontelle
Stretton (22), also of Queensland, and Leanne Christie (40)
and Vicky Beauchamp (66), both of Auckland, at Ross Home in
Dunedin, yesterday. Photo Gerard O'Brien.
Five generations of women from the same family met for a
rare get-together to surprise Dunedin matriarch Emily Duffy
yesterday morning.
It was the first time Mrs Duffy had met her
great-great-granddaughter, Isabella Scott, after a plan was
hatched by her Auckland-based daughter Vicky Beauchamp and
granddaughter Leanne Christie.
The last family get-together for the women was 22 years ago
in Auckland, shortly after the birth of Mrs Duffy's
great-granddaughter Shontelle Stretton - Isabella's mother.
Mrs Duffy, who lives at Ross Home and Hospital, welcomed the
visit from the younger generations of her family for the
special morning-tea celebration.
"It's quite a surprise. A very big surprise," she said.
University of Otago gerontology specialist Prof John Campbell
said the intergenerational meeting of the women was unusual,
but one which could become more common.
The life expectancy of humans had increased by about a decade
during the past 40 years, with women having a "true
biological superiority" over men when it came to living
longer.
In the past, mothers had children at a younger age and those
babies had lived longer, he said.
Improvements in transport and technology had also enabled
far-flung families to come together more easily for such
intergenerational visits, he said.
However, advances in life expectancy were being
counter-balanced by mothers increasingly waiting longer to
start families, Prof Campbell said.
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