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God has her in His keeping, We have her in our hearts.
Melba was born on 22 May 1908, in Inverell, NSW. She and her sister Nellie were named after the famous opera singer Dame Nellie Melba.
In 1942 Melba moved to 189 Clovelly Road, Clovelly, Sydney, and lived with her mother, Ruth, and her sister Lucy's daughter Joan.
Melba married James (Jim) Keating on 18 Nov 1944, at St Anne's Catholic Church, North Bondi. They lived at 260 Bondi Road, Bondi, Sydney, until Jim won the lottery with a friend worth 6000 pounds each in1953, with which they bought the house at 12 Niblick Street, North Bondi, a new Holden car and had a trip to Tasmania.
Melba worked at Wright Heaton's Head Office and David Jones, as a cashier and then in the Lottery Office for 8 years. She was also a member of the View Club which helped the Smith Family charity.
Melba and Jim were engaged for 17 years before they married and were renowned for their "friendly" arguments with each other nearly every day of their lives! Melba and Jim never had any children either, as Jim did not want any, as his mother passed away when he was a baby, which may have influenced his decision. Despite this they were very generous people and doted on their nieces and nephews. They were very good to their niece Betty, who lost her husband at an early age in 1964, and Betty's children, Robyn and Alan James, who were only 8 years old and 5 years old, respectively, at the time their father passed away. They spent many a school holiday travelling from Fairfield to North Bondi to stay with Melba and Jim as they were like their grandparents to them, due to the fact that their grandmother Lucy (Melba"s sister) had passed away before they were born from Parkinson's Disease. Melba loved going to the theatre and to stage shows and would always jump at the "excuse" to take the children to the beach and to see all the Disney movies and children's holiday pantomimes. She enjoyed them just as much as the children did! Betty's sister Joan's children, Susan in particular, would also travel down from Coonamble to Melba and Jim's to stay as well.
Submitted by Susan Margaret Ecob and Robyn Elizabeth Price
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