Helping Allied soldiers escape during the war, travelling across the world to marry a stranger, running successful family businesses.
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Albury's Aphrodity Cretan, who turned 100 years old yesterday, has experienced all this and more during her long life.
About 75 guests joined the celebrations in the Greek Orthodox church hall.
Born January 7, 1920, in a small village in Crete, Mrs Cretan remembered "the goats are in the vineyard" as the warning called if German soldiers were nearby during World War II.
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In 1947, she came to Australia by flying boat to marry Nicholas, who was 20 years her senior.
"He was a very popular cafe proprietor in Holbrook, so she became known as Mrs Nick," Mrs Cretan's son John said.
He noted his mother's good business sense as the couple ran the Peter Pan Cafe.
"By mid-1951, she raised three children, persuaded Dad to purchase the Peter Pan outright and became a force in the partnership," he said.
Mr and Mrs Cretan raised three children, Helen, Kathy (now deceased) and John, with the family moving into Albury to build and open the Olympia Fish Cafe in 1962.
Mrs Cretan continued to work in cafes after her husband retired, the couple known for their support of family and the wider community.
Mr Cretan died in 1997, aged 97, and his widow still lives independently in her own home, proud of her garden and strong in her faith.
"She is not backward in letting you know what she would like you to do, but in the end she is respectful of the decisions you make," her son said.
