When Maureen Fox moved from Invercargill to Enliven’s Coombrae Home in Feilding last year there were some very precious memories that came too.
The retired principal was made a Member of the British Empire for her services to education as part of the 1995 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Maureen moved north after her son Aaron and his family relocated to Manawatu from Southland.
She had already been a resident at Enliven’s Vickery Court in Invercargill after a fall.
“The hospital care at Vickery Court really helped to the point where we could fly mum up here and relocate her,” says Aaron. “That’s why I looked for an Enliven home for her in this area.”
It was also important to find a home where Maureen’s cat, Kit, could live too. Maureen says Kit had no trouble settling into his new surroundings.
“He owns the place! He loves going up on the roof.”
Maureen’s career saw her teach in Dunedin, South Otago and Invercargill before taking up a position at Kingswell High School in South Invercargill in 1979.
When she was appointed as the Principal at Kingswell, she worked to improve the school’s image within the community.
“You can’t turn a school around in five minutes,” she reflects.
Maureen and her husband Pat introduced a breakfast in school programme and she was also instrumental in establishing a youth support trust focused on involving Maori parents to help improve their children’s attendance rates and educational achievement. Kingswell established the first bilingual unit in the South Island.
At the same time Maureen was involved with the NZ Commercial and Economic Teachers’ Association, dedicated to supporting commerce teachers, and was an international examiner for the teaching of Pitman’s typewriting.
After retiring in the early 1990s, Maureen didn’t slow down, instead turning her focus to preserving Invercargill’s heritage buildings.
Enliven’s Coombrae Home and Village, located on North Street in Feilding, offers independent retirement villas, rest home and dementia care, short-term respite, as well as a day programme. To learn more about the home, call the friendly team on 06 323 4491.
