Partners in Dignity BOOK of REMEMBRANCE P1 Partners in Dignity A gift in your Will promotes, nurtures and upholds the dignity of countless people with a disability. Having a Will is an important step in planning for the future of your loved ones, including the causes you hold dear to your heart. By making a gift in your Will to House with No Steps, you are making your wishes known. You are also helping people with a disability to look forward to the future with confidence. Leaving a gift in your Will today will not impact your lifestyle, however, you will be remembered for leaving a lasting gift for others to live out their lives with dignity and equality. P2 Partners in Dignity When you inform us of your intention to leave a gift in your Will we would like to acknowledge your tremendous generosity by making you an exclusive member of Partners in Dignity. Partners in Dignity is comprised of a truly remarkable group of individuals; people like you who are passionate about giving people with a disability opportunities to lead a fulfilling life. P3 Partners in Dignity Lionel Watts 1928 – 2000 Founder of House with No Steps Frank Lionel Watts, known as Lionel, Having been rejected by was born on 20th December 1928. rehabilitation agencies on the grounds that he was “too In 1947, while stationed in Geelong badly handicapped ever to be Victoria during naval service, Lionel rehabilitated” and unable to find met his future bride, Dorothy, at a employment, Lionel joined forces dance in the Palais Ballroom. with other people with a disability By 1956, aged 28, Lionel was to form the Motorised Wheelchair enjoying life in Sydney with Dorothy Club, later renamed The Wheelchair and their two young daughters, & Disabled Association of Australia. Nicole and Kerry. He was employed Lionel was quickly appointed as the by GJ Coles as an ambitious and Association’s first President. dynamic Junior Executive Manager, Following a request from a member with a promising career ahead. to find a ‘house with no steps’ to Little did they know, all this was live in, the project was thereafter about to change. named House with No Steps. Later that year, Lionel contracted In 1965, after 15 months of polio which left him with negotiations, the NSW State quadriplegia and weighing only Government finally agreed to 32kgs. He spent the next 2 years grant 2.5 acres of land at Belrose recovering at hospital. for the construction of the first “When I first became disabled, I House with No Steps. His early looked around and I tried to find work with the organisation focused my way back into the community. on establishing workshops which I hadn’t really looked at my provided jobs for people with a reflection and in my own mind I still disability, a wheelchair factory and considered myself as being fairly independent living accommodation. able, rather than disabled.” Over the next 10 years, House with Lionel Watts No Steps expanded into regional P4 Lionel Watts continued NSW, ACT and Queensland, 3. The mandatory inclusion of enabling people with disabilities ‘laybacks’ (ramps) in footpaths to find suitable accommodation and kerb crossings. and employment within their own In 1969, Lionel was invited communities. by President Nixon to attend The next project was to help the President’s Committee on change Australia’s building codes Rehabilitation in Washington. Over and architectural standards with the following eight years, he was the aim of eliminating architectural to attend five similar seminars. barriers for people with disabilities. Also in 1969 Lionel received In 1966, Lionel and Dorothy further recognition for his great travelled the world researching contribution to the welfare of what other nations were doing. people with a disability by being awarded an M.B.E. in the New Based on what they found, Lionel, Year’s Honours. along with the Australian Council for Rehabilitation of Disabled Later, in 1982, Lionel was appointed (ACROD) and other organisations, a Companion of the Order of St lobbied the Federal and State Michael and St George (CMG) in Governments, The Institute of the Queen’s Birthday Honours for Architects, the Real Estate Institute his work in rehabilitation. of NSW, and other groups seeking Sadly, Lionel Watts passed away on a commitment to addressing these 17 October 2000; however, to this barriers. day, Lionel’s legacy of providing In 1968, ACROD and its affiliates dignity and purpose to those living finally achieved their aim with the with a disability continues on introduction of The Australian through the charity he founded, Standard Code of Design for House with No Steps. Access by Handicapped Persons: His determination and foresight Public Buildings and Facilities. as an advocate for people with a These new laws focused on making disability provides inspiration and day-to-day living easier including: guidance to the staff and eternal 1. Mandatory wheelchair access to gratitude from those whose lives ALL public buildings via ramps have been changed for the better. (previously people either had to Today, and for years to come, we be carried up stairs, or enter via will continue to salute and thank the delivery dock or kitchen). Lionel Watts’ all embracing love for 2. The introduction of parking his fellow human beings. permits for the physically handicapped. P5 Partners in Dignity Teuntje (& Johaane) Mieschke 1925 – 2015 Teuntje Geertruida, better known as only child – their true pride and joy, Tony, was a caring lady with a big but sadly he died at the age of 26. heart who always brought a smile A number of years later, Johaane to people’s faces. She recently did also passed away at 72, on the 2nd an incredible thing by leaving a gift May 1993. to House with No Steps in her Will. After Johaane’s passing, Tony was “She was a lovely lady. She was not lonely. She had a wonderful kind and caring but she was also circle of close friends who looked very stern and strong”, said her after one another. One of whom close friend, Allan Vassallo. was her former neighbour, Allan. Tony and Allan often spent their Born in the Netherlands, Tony days taking long walks along Manly moved to Australia with her beach and speaking in their native husband Johaane Christian Dutch language. Mieschke shortly after World War II. They first lived in an immigrant “She had battled so much in her camp and after a while decided to life, especially with the loss of her call Narrabeen home. son and her husband. She was an inspiration to me”, said Allan. Johaane worked as a carpenter and Tony found domestic work with After living the last few years a number of families in the area. of her life in a nursing home in Her reputation as a hard worker Bayview, Tony passed away on 21st quickly earned her a position December 2015. running the household of a wealthy “Tony never built any skyscrapers Dutch family. She looked after their or solved world affairs but she children, organised staff on the changed people’s lives. She property and became a lifelong brought a smile to their faces and companion to her employer. let them know that she cared – After trying for many years, Tony and those qualities are worth the and Johaane were overjoyed at the world”, said Allan. birth of their son, Karl. He was their P6 Partners in Dignity Louisa Blom 1920 – 2015 Louisa Blom was in many ways your They lived for two years in a ordinary Aussie battler who gave migrant camp in Richmond, NSW, an extraordinary gift of hope and before settling down in Bankstown. joy to people with a disability. Her greatest love was for those Louisa was born on 10th May, less fortunate than herself. She 1921 in Flaardingen, Holland and understood well from her personal grew up in Glanebrug, close to the experience that some people need German border. Marrying Theo more help than others and was at 18, they had 8 children, one of determined to do something about whom died at the age of 6 months. it. She realised that even though This great loss was difficult for she could only contribute in a small them to overcome but Louisa was way at the time, she had the ability a compassionate, strong willed and to contribute in a more significant determined woman. This was not way by planning for the future. the only hurdle she had to surpass. In this manner she could give and It was war time and she was left make a real difference in the lives of at home looking after the children people with a disability. At the time while her husband went to war. that she wrote her Will she planned Fortunately, Theo returned and to leave a major legacy and an they were all able to move safely to extraordinary Christmas gift by Rotterdam. assigning the whole of her estate to Eventually, in 1958, looking for a House with No Steps. better future for themselves and their family, Louisa, Theo and four of their children moved to Australia. P7 Partners in Dignity Victor Rudling 1945 – 2015 Victor Rudling ‘Vic’ was born on independent and self-reliant, yet 2nd February 1945, in Fulham, a always willing to lend a helping suburb of London, England, just hand to those in need. He did so after WWII. He was an identical out of the goodness of his heart twin brother to James, however and not for any reward or returned having been born 40 minutes favour. Everyone he knew was in earlier.