There was a triple celebration last week as three residents of John Paul Village at Heathcote marked their 100th birthdays.
John (Jack) Potts, Kenneth (Ken) Harris and Jean Roberts all celebrate their 100th birthdays between the end of March and the end of July.
Both Jack and Ken are returned servicemen who saw active service during WWII, while Jean’s husband, who was Welsh by birth, served in the Australian army during the war.
Jack Potts was born March 28, 1918 in Marrickville, the fifth of six boys.
The family moved to Carlton and Jack when to Canterbury Boys High School.
He joined the NSW Public Service in 1934 and retired in 1978 as a legal advisor in the Premier’s Department.
He served in WWII in the AIF and anti-aircraft and ‘Z’ Special Forces.
Jack has lived with wife Mary, 96, at John Paul Village since 1995.
He has five children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Ken Harris was born in Marrickville, coincidentally a couple of streets away from Jack, on May 4, 1918.
He was the second of three boys. Ken was married to Phyllis for 73 years. He has two children, four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Ken is an ex-serviceman who saw service in the south-west Pacific.
He was a past president of the Master Plumbers Association.
He has lived at John Paul Village for 28 years.
Ken was married for 73 years and has been a widower for a few years.
Jean was born on July 29, 1918 in Sydney and lived in Maroubra from 1920.
She married a Welshman who was serving in the Australian army in 1942 and had two daughters, Margaret and Patricia.
She has four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Jean was widowed in 1973 and came to live in John Paul Village in 2000.
