“I suppose I’m pretty good for my age”

Age truly is just a number for 90-year-old go-getter Rona Panos, who still dances, bowls and volunteers her time helping others.

Mrs Panos lives independently in a unit of Amana Living - Wearne Village, which she maintains herself on top of her ongoing duties as member of several clubs and institutions.

Yet the most remarkable feat of Ms Panos is her ability to care for the people around her. Three times a week Ms Panos volunteers her time at the neighbouring Wearne House, an aged care facility with residents are up to 15 years her junior.

She prepares afternoon tea, runs a yahtzee club and every year helps the residents train for the Western Australian Aged Care Games, an annual sporting event to promote exercise and participation for people in care.

“Last year they were short so they made me play,” she said.

“But I’ve made a lot of lovely friends.”

Friendship is important to Mrs Panos, who still writes birthday and Christmas cards to the women who helped out in her husband’s restaurant, over 40 years ago.

Her work in support and promotion of blind bowls has also awarded Ms Panos with lifetime friends.

In 1977 Ms Panos joined the Dudley Park Bowling Club, but a haemorrhage in her left eye meant she struggled playing with the sighted bowlers.

So she took the offer of joining the blind bowls on a Thursday night. When her sight returned, Ms Panos remained loyal to the group as their captain, organiser and mentor.

When the club dispersed two years ago to become a physically handicapped club, Ms Panos retained the vital role as trainer and took six ladies to the National Bowling Championships in the eastern states, returning to Mandurah with gold and silver medals.

“You’ve got to care about other people,” she said of her success.

The loss of her husband in September led Ms Panos to put her name down for Wearne Village. After some initial reluctance, she seized the offer when a unit became available and now considers herself extremely lucky in her home overlooking the estuary.

Before her husband died, the two were made life members at the Mandurah Ballroom Dancing Club. They were the oldest couple there but they rarely missed a week.

A knee operation and the unexpected loss of her dancing partner disrupted the routine, but she is adamant that she will be back at it soon.

“I’m going on 91 though, so I don’t know if I’ll find a partner to dance with,” she joked.

A self-confessed “hyperactive personality” Ms Panos attributes good genes and a restless attitude to her energetic lifestyle.

“I find it very hard to relax. I’ve always played a lot of sport and worked hard.

“I think that as you get older you’re inclined to become dormant but I believe you must keep going, always look on the bright side of life and never say die.”

Image: From left, Rona Panos with Amana Living occupational therapy assistant, Jan Fairclough.