“I always said I would never, ever move into a place like this,” Betty began. “But whenever I drove by with my daughter and saw the beautiful gardens, I thought, ‘If I ever have to, I’d like to be somewhere like this.’ When they sold my apartment, we came to have a look, and I fell in love. I’m my own boss here. I go out when I want, and they look after me. I am absolutely happy and would recommend this place to anyone.” Her joy was unmistakable.
The now 100-year-old originally from Amsterdam, Betty has always been surrounded by water and has loved swimming since childhood. When she moved into Thornebridge Gardens in April 2024, she brought her favourite china from Amsterdam, proudly displaying it in her spacious suite.
Betty’s passion for swimming never faded. She competed in her first senior games in 1990 in Port Coquitlam, and since then, she’s traveled the world—Sydney, Budapest, Torino, to name a few—competing and bringing home countless medals. “The medals aren’t important,” she shrugged with modesty, “and the records are great, but I swim because when I’m in the pool, I feel amazing. It’s like home—my happy place.”
She thinks she has around 50 medals, but in truth, her bag holds far more. Just this past October at the World Senior Games in Utah, where over 11,000 people attended, Betty set four new world records!
Betty stays dedicated, training twice a week at the nearby aquatic center. “It’s one of the things I love about Thornebridge—it’s so close!” she said with a grin. This Thursday, she’ll be giving a tour of the center to her fellow residents, eager to share her passion for swimming.
But Betty’s talents don’t stop at swimming. She also enjoys cross-stitching, and the beautiful framed pieces on her wall are all her own handiwork.
When we talked about Verve Senior Living’s “Be” campaign—this quarter’s theme being “Be Limitless”—we asked Betty if she feels she can be limitless here. With a twinkle in her eye, she replied, “Yes, I can do whatever I want. But my motto is ‘Be Kind.'”
