By Danielle Galvin
FRENCH native Rene Gorry celebrated his 100th birthday on New Year’s Eve with a luncheon of 70 people and a special DVD made by his granddaughter.
It was a busy couple of days for the Gorrys, who had a number of visitors at their Bunyip home for the afternoon tea and a pub lunch to celebrate the great-grandfather’s milestone.
Among the well-wishers were Queen Elizabeth, Russell Broadbent MP, Governor-General Quentin Bryce, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu, Victorian Governor Alex Chernov and Ken Smith MP.
It’s certainly not every day that the former cabinetmaker, keen fisherman and sprightly 100-year-old gets messages from Australia’s heads of state.
He was quite overwhelmed by the attention but he grins when he reads over his array of letters.
“I got one from everybody!”
Mr Gorry, born and raised in Coutras near Bordeaux, goes for daily walks through the grapevines outside his house.
He lives in a cottage attached to his son’s house in Bunyip.
It’s a house he’s helped build.
Daughter-in-law Beryl lists the timeless pieces he’s built over the years. She’s hopeful that his grandfather clocks, cabinets, tables, chairs and bookcases will become family heir -looms.
“Each of the grandkids will get some of what he’s made,” she said.
On New Year’s Eve, the Gorry family watched a DVD with family photos as classic French tunes filled the air.
Mr Gorry laughs when an image comes on screen showing his late wife Angele and him napping on a couch.
He’s a loving great-grandfather to seven and a grandfather to four.
Great-grandson Tom is learning to play the trumpet, in his grandfather’s footsteps.
“I can’t play any more, my fingers are OK but it’s my teeth,” Mr Gorry laughs.
At age 20, Mr Gorry was called into France’s National Service.
“That was the last time they called someone for one year,” he said.
Beryl’s husband Jean-Pierre was also called into the National Service.
And he’s inherited some of his father’s workmanship.
For each of his three children, he’s built grandfather clocks, just like his father.
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