The highlight of their year was to go into Maryborough for the New Year games, Catherine being of Scottish descent. Rene was a good scholar, but when she was 12 years old her paternal grandfather died and she was taken out of school and went to keep house for her grandmother. A victim of the widely held belief in those days that girls didn’t need an education, apparently even school teachers believed this. It must be remembered that 12 year olds in those days were much more competent domestically than later generations. However in 1906 the family moved to Belmont, a small village at that time outside Geelong. This was the year the youngest baby arrived so Rene became her mother’s right hand helper.

Eventually she went to the Gordon Institute of Technology in Geelong and learnt shorthand and typing. About this time the brother, 18 months older, and very close to her, was killed at Gallipoli. As two other brothers were by this time in the Army it was a time of immense sadness and worry for the whole family.

Rene went to work as a teacher at Zercho's Business College in Melbourne and boarded at Albert Park. F.W. Zercho the owner of the College was an uncle by marriage. Prior to this she had been very active in the St. Stephen’s Church, Belmont which was just across the road from their home at 28 Thompson Street. She taught in the Sunday School and played the church organ also her father was a superintendent.

She was largely a self taught pianist. Her father having paid for piano and violin lessons for the boys and they hated practising, refused to spend any more money on music lessons, so she set to with their music books and her perfect ear for tune, became most proficient. She was even able to teach her youngest sister. I believe there were some great musical evenings at Thompson Street with friends arriving with various musical instruments and most of the family having fair singing voices. Through these get togethers, her Church work and interests her brothers shared with others, she met Arthur Harold Stenning, an English immigrant. Long courtships were often the order of the day at those times so it was not till he returned from the war in 1917 that they became engaged.

They married on 30 June 1920 and moved into lodgings at Middle Park. Of course working after marriage was just not done in those days. In late 1921 or early 1922 bought their property at 14 Empress Rd, Surrey Hills, where on 14th November 1922 their only son Clifton Grenfell (named for the brother killed in Gallipoli) was born, followed on 10th September 1927 by their only daughter Lucy Elizabeth (named after her paternal grandmother) but always known as Beth.

Rene became involved in the local church, Holy Trinity Church of England Surrey Hills, joining the Ladies Guild and often playing piano for the dances which were held during World War II. She also at this time became a blood donor, worked voluntarily making camouflage netting for the forces and knitting many jumpers, scarfs, balaclavas and socks for the Comforts Fund.

Unfortunately in about 1951/52 she developed Parkinson's Disease and this gradually decreased her activities both inside and outside the home. Arthur ( or Joe as he was known in the family) nursed her until in May 1958 she developed pneumonia and had to be admitted to Box Hill Hospital where she died on Mother’s Day 1958. She was a loving wife and mother, probably her one regret would have been that her son and his family moved to Queensland and I came to Sydney. She thus missed the joy of watching her grandchildren grow and develop.