She was a wife, mother, nanna, great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend.

Nanna was born Deborah Frances Smith to James and Theresa Smith on December 24, 1909 (98 years ago). She was a Christmas Eve baby known to all as Deb.

At the time Nanna was born, the family were living in England and she was the youngest of five children. Her siblings were Tom, Bill, Vera and Dorothy.

When Nanna was three years old, their mother packed up and came to Australia with the five children on a boat to join her father who had come out earlier and was working at Dandaloo as a veterinarian. After arriving in Australia, another brother Jim was born.

As time went by, Nanna was soon a young lady living in Sydney and working at David Jones. While working in the city she became friends with Maise Watkinson and was introduced to her brother Tom. Pa was very soon courting Nanna with trips around Sydney on his motorbike. He always said she was a perfect passenger on his bike.

On May 3, 1933, Pa and Nanna were married at Summerhill where they set up their first home.

Barry and Grandma were born while living and working around Croydon Park where they eventually went to school.

Nanna talked about her being in the city one day in March 1932 and being one of the first people to walk across the Harbour Bridge the day it was opened.

War came and Pa, like so many other young men, spent a number of years serving his country in New Guinea, leaving Nanna to care for two young children on her own.

During this time, visits between the three sisters, Nanna, Vera and Dorothy and their families took place around Ashfield and Cronulla where Nanna loved to swim in the pool. After the war, Pa returned home.

A new addition to the family was Tommy in 1948. When Tommy was six months old, they all travelled up to Wellington by train for a holiday and visit. It then resulted in a move to Wellington where the Watkinsons resided at 90 Thornton Street.

Here Nanna, as a caring wife and mother, kept the home going with the garden and began to make new friends in the country. Nanna became well known around town as the lady who walked everywhere over many years all around town even out to Montefiores to visit her brother Bill.

In the 1960s Pa and Nanna packed their bags and furniture and made the long trip to 100 Thornton Street where they made their new home. It was here that she took much interest in creating a new lawn and vegie garden which she tended with keen interest for many years until her health made it too difficult.

Pa and Nanna enjoyed having their nine grandchildren around and were always interested in keeping up with everyone’s achievements in life. There are now 10 great-grandchildren.

During 1958, Pa’s health deteriorated and Nanna cared for him at home, before he passed away in hospital in October of that year.

Over many years, Nanna supported the work of and worshipped at St John the Baptist Anglican Church each Friday. She kept herself busy with walking and tai chi, enjoying good health for many years.

Nanna carried on at home with the help and care of grandma up until four years ago when the need came for more care and she moved into Maranatha.

Stubborn as she was, this was not a welcome move. She was so fiercely independent and believed that she was only as old as she felt, which was not even close to 94.

It was that Christmas that we naively, yet with only the best intentions at heart gave Nanna a walker for Christmas. The horror was evident on her face as she handed the present back and informed us that she was not yet old enough for a walker but thanks anyway.

Nanna passed away after suffering a stroke at the great old age of 98.

Nanna’s ability to defy odds and literally double her life expectancy from the time of her birth, can only be attributed to her bizarre ungranny-like behaviours.

As children we were bewildered yet quietly impressed by the fact our Nanna stood on her head and was more flexible than any of our friend’s nannas.

I guess the lesson learnt from Nanna if nothing else, is that we should all be drinking hot water, standing on our heads and refusing to use walkers if we are to even dream of a life so well lived.

We thank the staff at Maranatha for their care, help and support of Nanna over these years.

We as a family are very thankful of having had such a special mother and Nanna and give thanks for her wonderfully long and healthy life.

Thank you for sharing with us as we remember Nanna Watti.

- Taken from the eulogy given by Deb’s great-granddaughter Emily Batho on May 1