Births, engagements, marriages and vale notices

VALE

Barbara Dunlop (Crawford, 1938) 23/02/1920 – 7/09/2025 (105 years old)

Barbara was born in February 1920 and grew up in a large family of five children in Chatswood. She always described her childhood as idyllic attending Chatswood Public School and then Pymble Ladies’ College for her secondary education. She loved returning to Pymble to see her daughter and granddaughter enjoy her old school. As a child she spent many holidays in Katoomba and Dee Why as well as Thredbo where she loved to ski.

She trained to become a nurse at the Children’s hospital at Camperdown and then worked in Pathology when she married Geoff Dunlop whom she met in the choir of St Stephen’s Willoughby. They settled in Roseville where they had one daughter, Rachel. Barbara took on a nursing job at Milton Nursing home in Roseville in the late 70’s two afternoons a week. She adored looking after “the oldies” she said. When they retired, they moved to St Ives and when Geoff died, she moved to the Cotswolds in North Turramurra to be closer to friends. After a fall in 2020, she required more assistance and settled quickly into Terrey Hills Nursing Home in January 2021.

Barbara has two grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Barbara kept active by playing golf and tennis up until her late 80s. She was a keen bridge and mah-jong player, loved gardening, church activities, reading and attending social outings especially with Probus. Barbara and Geoff travelled extensively within Australia and on cruises of the South Pacific.

Barbara was always interested in others and had a great sense of humour. She amazed family and friends by quickly adjusting to new places and accepting old age with grace and gratitude. She leaves us with an extensive legacy of memories.

By Rachel Osborne (Dunlop, 1973)

(Cherie) Ann Hamilton (Stewart, 1948) passed away on 6 August 2025, aged 94.

Ann went to PLC at the age of 12 after the early death of her mother, with two of her sisters Margaret Loudon (Stewart, 1941) and Heather McWilliam (Stewart, 1946).  She thrived at PLC and made lifelong friends with whom she kept in touch throughout her life.  A boarder in Goodlet House, she played Tildesley Shield tennis and was proud to be a Prefect in 1948.  After school,  she studied physiotherapy, with several of the girls of 1948, and was dux in her year. She married Ian Hamilton at St.Swithuns’, Pymble in 1954, a loving marriage that lasted 70 years.  Ann remained a keen tennis player into her 80s and was a leader with the National Parks Association.

Ann’s love of PLC never waned, and she attended every PLC reunion, including her 70th reunion in 2018. She is survived by her son Murray, daughter-in-law Gail (Andrews, 1976) and grandchildren Jessica Hamilton (2006), Anna Hamilton (2008) and Tom Hamilton.