The family of the woman killed in a Delacombe crash will remember her kindness and care for everyone in the community, as they struggle to come to terms with her tragic death.
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Lorraine 'Lorrie' Rodgers, 83, died after sustaining life-threatening injuries in a two-car collision in Delacombe on Saturday, August 5.
The accident occurred on Wiltshire Lane, north of the Greenhalghs Road intersection.
Lorrie's daughter Susie Leibling said while her mother had lived out of the spotlight, she deserved to be remembered for her selfless and tireless contributions to the Ballarat community.
She was just very humble, and didn't want to get recognition for anything.
The devoted mother-of-three and grandmother to six discovered her calling as a nurse at Ballarat Base Hospital, where she worked for more than a decade.
After retiring, Lorrie spent more than 20 years volunteering in palliative care.
"She was just very humble and didn't want to get recognition for anything," Susie said.
"She's cared for lots of us all through the years, and that's probably what most people remember her for is that kindness and caring for everyone."
A LIFE CARING FOR OTHERS
Lorrie was born in 1939 and grew up in Musk, outside Daylesford.
In 1957 she finished at school and while waiting to start nurse training, she worked at the Daylesford Town Hall milk bar, where she had a chance meeting with charming electrician Bill Rodgers.
Lorrie married Bill - her first and only love - in 1961, about four years after she moved to Ballarat to pursue her nursing career.
The pair welcomed their three children - Susie, Mark and Craig - into the world between 1962 and 1966.
Where she felt most comfortable was just caring for people ... she had a passion for palliative care, making their lives a little bit easier.
After pausing her nursing career to focus on motherhood, Lorrie returned to Ballarat Base Hospital in 1986 where she worked until retirement in the late 1990's.
Even after finishing her career, Lorrie continued to devote herself to others, volunteering at Gandarra Palliative Care Unit until she had to stop in 2020, owing to COVID-19.
"Where she felt most comfortable was caring for people, and especially she had a passion for palliative care, for people who were dying, and I guess making their lives a little bit easier," Susie said.
A LOVER OF NATURE
While she may have devoted most of her life to caring for people, Lorrie was a devout animal lover, which got her into trouble more than once.
Susie recalls a time when she received a call from her mum after she was bitten by a rakali while walking around Lake Wendouree.
After seeing the water rat attempt to get out of the lake, Lorrie decided to aid its efforts.
But all she received for her rescue attempt was a bitten finger and a tetanus shot.
"[That] was her, helping nature and her loving nature," Susie said.
On another occasion, while walking her dog Charlie along the Black Hill Creek trail, Lorrie fell over and broke her arm.
Instead of bothering emergency services, Lorrie drove her manual car home to Wendouree where she made a splint with a magazine before taking herself to the emergency department to have a cast put on.
Susie said it was another instance where her mother, not wanting to trouble overloaded emergency workers, put the needs of the community above her own.
While Lorrie spent a lot of time caring for others, she developed a range of skills and interests.
She was famous for her home-baked chocolate eclairs, which people insisted she bring to every event.
A passionate fan of the arts, Lorrie attended every musical theatre production in Ballarat from the late 60's until her death, and was a keen bowler at Ballarat alleys where she achieved many high-scoring games throughout the 1980's.
Lorrie's loss is felt deeply by her devastated family, who feel as if their time with their mother and grandmother has been cut cruelly short.
"I was devastated, I just knew the minute I saw the helicopter that she wasn't going to make it," Susie said.
"It's horrible because it's not just that she's died, but it's the extra level of trauma and unfairness."
"Everyone's just broken."
Susie said the family would like to pay special tribute to the emergency service workers who did their best to save Lorrie after the crash.
She said the best way for anyone to pay their respects would be via a donation to the Gandarra Palliative Care Unit, which Lorrie poured her heart and soul into.
Lorraine 'Lorrie' Rodgers will be remembered at a service on Thursday, August 17 at 2pm, at Peter Tobin Funerals in Invermay Park.
