Sonya Stein celebrated her 70th birthday back in June, but she is far from the type to let age define her. To her, age is merely a number, and she continues to embrace life with enthusiasm, focusing on the adventures that lie ahead.
Born in the mining town of Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia, Sonya is the youngest of three girls. The family lived in Kalgoorlie until she turned five and then they relocated to Perth, where she resided for many years before meeting her husband at the age of twenty-two and traveling around Australia.
Growing up, Sonya had a great childhood filled with love and affection.
“As there was such a big age gap between us kids, when I came along my sisters would tell me that all I had to do to get what I wanted was to bat my baby blue eyes, and they were right. I was spoilt rotten,” said Sonya.
Sonya's first husband had just turned nineteen when they married, he was a surfer type with long blond hair. They had two beautiful children together who have since grown up and now have kids and families of their own.
Sonya and her family lived in various places, including Derby in the Kimberley region. They considered moving to Queensland but ultimately returned to Perth due to her son's dyslexia. Throughout these journeys, Sonya continued to explore different jobs, such as teaching swimming, driving a school bus, and working as a secretary at a hospital.
When they moved back to Perth, she worked as a typist for a husband-and-wife team of medical specialists for fourteen years.
Sadly, the marriage became strained and after a tumultuous twenty-eight-year marriage the pair eventually got divorced. Tragically, her former husband passed away from a massive heart attack at the age of fifty-two. To this day Sonya’s ex-husband’s family remain some of her closest friends, an unusual but cherished connection.
Sonya has been with her current partner David for nearly eighteen years. They have never married, and Sonya humorously quips that she's "keeping her options open." They met through friends in Perth and eventually decided to travel around Australia in a camper trailer, a journey that would last four and a half years and eventually resulted in settling in Hervey Bay.
Sonya has always been a lover of the outdoors. She loves the climate, and beach life and takes a dip in the ocean every day. Her adventurous spirit even led her to venture into burlesque dancing with her friends.
Sonya says, “For about three weeks we looked like turtles trying to get off our backs. We have been doing burlesque for six years now. I am not sure if we are any better (laughs).
“It is a little bit of exercise, a hell of a lot of laughs and then we go back to my place and have wine and cheese after.”
Sonya retired at fifty-five and is grateful for the life she lives today; she acknowledges that the hardships she encountered in the past have shaped her into the person she is now.
Sonya hasn’t got any big dreams of travel but says if she had a lotto win, she would be in Alaska in a heartbeat as it is a place she has always wanted to visit.
She cherishes her two children and four grandchildren and looks forward to going back to Perth soon for a holiday to visit them all.
In her spare time, Sonya immerses herself in various hobbies, such as reupholstering, painting, sewing, and crafting, she finds relaxation in a nightly glass of wine, which is the perfect end to a fulfilling day. Sonya’s deep affection for Hervey Bay and all it offers is palpable, reflecting her love for the place she calls home.
By Kim Parnell
From What’s on Fraser Coast
