102-year-old Exeter woman beats Covid

An Exeter care home resident has celebrated her 102nd birthday after surviving Covid.

Muriel Dunford, who lives at The Old Rectory, contracted the virus in January of this year, but remained asymptomatic and after recovering, was able to enjoy her special day with staff and residents at the home.

Rachel Fullard-Bell, Home Administrator at the Old Rectory, said: “Muriel has lived with us for three years and everyone here is extremely fond of her. She is always so positive and has developed some lovely relationships with everyone here in the home. When she contracted Covid, we were all devastated, however, she showed no symptoms at all. We were over the moon to see her come out the other end as her normal bubbly self and were so happy to be able to celebrate with her. Muriel had no children, but she has a cousin who is very involved with her care.”

Muriel was born in Cornwall and later moved to Templeton in mid Devon, starting work on the family farm at the age of 14. In the 1940’s the family settled in Nadderwater, near Exeter.

A decade later, Muriel became the landlady of an historic small hotel at Red Ball, near Wellington, Somerset, where she won an award for being the ‘friendliest landlady of the year.’

The hotel catered mainly for summer tourists and in the quieter months, Muriel pursued her hobbies of flower arranging, dress making and cake decorating.

After selling the hotel in 1973, Muriel married Claude, a retired farmer, and the couple retired to Rockbeare. Claude passed away in the 1990s and Muriel continued to live independently, enjoying regular holidays by the sea.