Two women at Milton Keynes care home celebrate their 100th birthdays

Milton Court Care Home - in Kents Hill - residents Joan Varney and Dorothy Chapman recently celebrated their centenary birthdays, both of which were in November.

Kathleen Joan Varney, known as Joan, was born November 17 1920. And Dorothy was born on November 30 1920.

On reaching her 100th year, Joan said that her secret to longevity is owed to good friends and family.

And Dorothy loved celebrating her centenary birthday at Milton Court. She said: “I had a lovely card from the Queen, and the staff made it all very special. Seeing my family, too, was a wonderful surprise."

In her spare time, Joan loves to knit, complete puzzles and crosswords. Joan was married to Ronald Charles Varney up until he died on June 25 2018, the day before their 75th wedding anniversary.

As a child, Dorothy enjoyed dance lessons, playing the piano and violin. In 1945, Dorothy married Edward Chapman, who was a pilot for the Military Aircraft Production during the Second World War. Dorothy has four grandchildren: Thomas, 12, Louie, eight, Jessica, 11, and William, seven.

To celebrate their lives, and a special birthday milestone, Milton Court Care Home’s customer services manager, Gemma Brooks, posted on Facebook asking friends and family to send in birthday cards and postcards for both ladies – the goal was to gather 100 each.

Altogether they managed to receive 340 cards, some sent from Canada, Croatia, New Zealand, Spain, and the Netherlands, to name a few. Along with the cards, the ladies enjoyed cake, gifts and drinks with staff and residents from Milton Court.