The surgery to treat Sayner’s intestinal cancer was performed in December 2021. As a result, she had always been uncomfortable with the concept of working into her 80s or the prospect of losing her apartment if she ran out of money to pay the rent. She would, of course, turn 80 in a few of years, and given her state, it would be hard for her to accept a job that wouldn’t worsen her predicament.
The imminent fate of the flat, whose owner and her landlord, John Perrett, had earlier intimated that it would be given to a charity after his passing, was the only other item that persisted in her mind. As a result, she was constantly aware that the house would eventually be sold, but that was not at all the case.
She stated in an interview that for the entire period he served as her landlord, he had consistently claimed that all of his earnings went to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
To her astonishment, Perrett remembered her in his dying will and testament and left her the apartment, which she moved into permanently.
Perrett, who had fallen multiple times before passing away, spent his final days at a nursing home. Additionally, he received a kidney transplant 30 years before he passed away. He probably made the decision to give $18.6 million to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for this reason.
Perrett was a pharmacist who had participated in a number of civic endeavors. He was unmarried and has no children. Sayner was a nice renter who paid her rent on time, so maybe Perrett observed that and decided to give her the apartment.
“I never missed a rent payment. A very strict businessman, he was. Both stock and real estate were in abundance, she said.
For Sayner, it was more than just an apartment; it was always her home, which she took good care of and made even more beautiful than it had been before she moved in.
“I handled this location as if it were my own. The garden in the back wasn’t there when I first moved in. I planted a lot of plants and flowers while I was residing here, and they are still there today,” she remarked.
However, it appeared that Perrett offered Sayner a hint when he was still alive that he always intended to leave the apartment to her, as the late businessman had already handed up the other units with the exception of the last one.
She explained, “And when he reached the point where he could no longer do that, he put all the other units, except this one, into the hands of agents.
Sayner made sure to visit Perrett when he was residing in the nursing home.
“I used to make a call in on my way home from work at least once every week. I am aware of how those people must feel. It’s not very enjoyable and you don’t get many visitors,” Sayner remarked.
Up until the day Perrett called her without warning. Then, she recalled, “he suddenly contacted me one day and said, ‘My solicitor’s here, can you just give me your complete name, because I’m leaving you your unit.’”
Unfortunately, Sayner was unable to pay Perrett a visit during his final three months in the nursing home.
“I couldn’t even go see him at the nursing home for the past two or three months. I was refused entry. She remarked, “That was the worst.
Sayner, however, was one of the 10 people who were permitted to attend the funeral after Perrett passed away.
Perrett gave a flat to another tenant in the interim, and gave cash to his go-to handyman.
Sayner spent nearly 25 years working for Costa before deciding to leave the company at the age of 74. She was given as much time as she wanted to stay by the Australian fruit and vegetable company, but she had to leave because she was no longer able to perform the task.
Sayner simply had this to say after being given the incredible opportunity to not worry about her modest home and to be supported by a pension: “What more could you want?”
Sayner earned the favors she received from Perrett because she not only took good care of the house she had lived in for many years, but also remained devoted to him for the remainder of his life. Definitely a prize for her commitment.
Watch the video below to know more about this touching story:
146