Depperhaugh Nursing Home worker retires after 32 years and resident celebrates 100th birthday

A carer has bode a fond farewell to her second home and her “amazing” colleagues after retiring from a role she has held for more than three decades.

Senior support worker Sandra Moss said goodbye to friends and staff at The Depperhaugh Nursing Home shortly before Christmas, bringing to an end a 32-year association with the Hoxne business.

When Mrs Moss, 67, of Needham, near Harleston, first arrived at the home, she said she was struck by the sheer physical hard work in an era before hoists.

The former police constable said: “I also found it difficult because it was my first contact with dementia. However, I gave myself a month and I have been here ever since.”

The mother-of-five originally started one night a week but built up to become a senior support worker when Kingsley Healthcare acquired the 19th century former admiral’s house in 2008.

She said: “The Depperhaugh is part of my life; I have loved caring for its residents, and the team I have worked with have simply been amazing.”

On the same day that Mrs Moss said goodbye, resident Florence ‘Mabel’ Woods celebrated reaching her 100th birthday.

Mrs Woods, who has been at the home for two and a half years, was born in Lincolnshire, and grew up with her sister, Margaret, and brother, Arthur, who still lives in the area.

She celebrated her big day on December 17, two days after four generations of her family visited.

Mrs Woods was married to accomplished melodeon player Oscar Woods and, after settling in Sternfield, near Saxmundham, the couple raised two sons, Nicholas and Simon, who have both since died, and daughter Gail, 70, who lives in Norwich.