Fathers’ Day - a Time to Celebrate Dads at Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem)

As Fathers’ Day approaches, 90-year-old Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem) resident and great grandfather Frederick Reynolds-Parker will be spending Sunday September 4 in good company.

This year, Frederick – whose maternal family arrived in Australia as one of the first free settlers to Western Australia back in 1820 – will be celebrating the special day alongside his son and grandson, Neil and Lyndon.

The Reynolds-Parker family spans four generations, with patriarch Frederick, who was born in Perth, moving to the UK with his English-born father when he was just four years, following the death of his Australian mother, a nurse whom his father had fallen in love with and married after she nursed him back to health when he was severely injured in the first world war.

Tragically, Frederick’s father also died soon after he and his three siblings were taken to the English Midlands, which saw Frederick separated from his brothers and sister and placed in an orphanage where he would spend the next 10 years, including those spanning the second world war.

“Despite dad not having a father of his own, or a mum for that matter, he’s been a really good dad and my son and I frequently visit him at the home, where he’s beloved by the staff and fellow residents alike,” says Neil, who is the middle of Frederick’s three children and who has an elder sister, Beverly-Jane, who lives in Canada, and a younger brother, Clinton James, who lives in Wales.

“Frederick is a very important person in all of our lives; he had a tough and challenging childhood which he has written about in his book about his orphanage years, but he still has an incredible zest for life, so on Fathers Day we’ll be making sure he feels very much loved,” he says.

Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem) General Manager Precinct, Zubair Coovadia, said Fathers’ Day presented a perfect opportunity to recognise fathers like Frederick.

“There are many amazing gentleman like Frederick at Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem) who have demonstrated selfless dedication, love and care for their family during their lifetime, and that’s why our team here try hard to recognise their contribution, not just on a particular day but throughout the year,” he says.

“On Fathers’ Day itself, Frederick will be spending time celebrating with his family; they are very proud of him and his dedication as a father, grandfather and great-grandfather.”

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