Stonehaven Care Group Celebrate Two 100 + Year Birthdays At Dove Tree House

Dove Tree House is celebrating the birthdays of Beatrice Staddon who will be 101 on the 17th May and Mary Cummings who will be 108 on the 22nd May.

Mary will be 108, has family in the North of England and her neice Barbara Lake, who visits regularly, lives just round the corner from Dove Tree House. Mary was a personal secretary to Herbert who was a purchasing agent for Durham Iron and steel, who then she later married. Ten years after Herbert died Mary moved down to Devon where she lived independently until last year.

Mary enjoys the radio and is very happy at Dove Tree House. She will have a family party at her favourite Darts Farm.

That will be in addition to a joint party being held on the 20th May, organised by the staff at Dove Tree House for both centenarians.

Beatrice will be 101, is quite shy and has lived at Dove Tree House, Exeter for 3 years. The home is owned by the Stonehaven Care Group, one of the largest residential and specialist care home providers in the South West. It now operates eight homes in Devon and Cornwall including The Drake Unit in Tavistock which specialises in complex needs including Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and acquired brain injuries.

Despite her sight starting to fail, the many activities and the encouragement of personal interest, including organised outings and in-house entertainments add to Beatrice’s enjoyment of life. Beatrice is a keen knitter. She makes baby cot squares in pale colours and sews them together to make 4ft x 2ft blankets. The blankets used to be sent to children in Romania. Now she knits for her family. Family member Anne Staddon, her eldest daughter, who lives in Reigate, takes the blankets and lines the backs.

Beatrice maintains a comfortable and happy lifestyle at Dove Tree House. She maintains a healthy diet and particularly enjoys poached egg on toast in the morning. In the evening she eats her favourite mushrooms on toast, preferring this to meat dishes.

Her sons John and Kenneth Staddon both live close to Dove Tree House and John visits her twice a day. He said:” In her 80’s Beatrice was always out and about. During the 1930’s she worked as a nurse in Exeter Eye Infirmary. She was happily married for 40 years. Beatrice still does not think as herself as 101 years old.”

Dove Tree House Manager Jazmine Lemin, said:” We are proud to provide such a homely environment to our residents, like Beatrice and Mary. It is important that they feel part of the home and enjoy a memorable time. It is also reassuring to know that their family feel happy knowing that they are also part of our one big family at Dove Tree House which is listed in the top 20 Care Home Awards in the South West Region.

Jaz, worked for the previous owners of Dove Tree House, and has continued to enjoy her role as manager since the Stonehaven Care Group took over the home 5 years ago. She works with a strong and conscientious team of 10 long serving staff. Dove Tree House is a thirty-five capacity care home designed to carry out a range of personal care needs, and for dementia and physical disabilities.”