The residents of a Raymond Terrace aged care facility have had the luxury of choosing from hundreds of movies to watch during the COVID lockdown thanks to the generosity of former resident.
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Keith Stollznow moved to Raymond Terrace after the death of his wife Irene. He was a resident at the Opal Raymond Terrace Gardens for five years before he died in 2008, aged 84.
Mr Stollznow was a great lover of movies who left behind a collection of more than 600 DVDs.
Daughter Jan Noake, from North Arm Cove, helped Mr Stollznow slowly acquire the vast movie collection, buying him some each time she saw something he'd like.
Ms Noake kept the DVDs in storage following her father's death, and found it a struggle to part with them.
That was until the coronavirus pandemic came along and the residents were placed in isolation.
"I worried for the residents and their families unable to visit each other. I was thinking of ways I could help during the isolation when the thought came to me: what better way to honour my father than by creating a mobile DVD library and donating them to the nursing home that cared for him so well," Ms Noake said.
"My father was a great family man, a returned World War II serviceman, a lover of history and a keen supporter of indigenous rights and I know he would have loved that his collection might bring some enjoyment to others.
"He was close to his favourite nurses and one of them is now the general manager, so it was very fitting that Michelle Armstrong accepted the donation at Opal Gardens."
Proud granddaughter Rachael Vaughan said that Mr Stollznow was famous for defending Indigenous diggers, many of whom were also his close friends.
"When they all returned from World War II he wasn't allowed to sit with them at the movies or have a beer in the pub with them, yet he could fight for their country in the trenches with them. This hurt him greatly so he made some noise about the injustice and their fight for recognition," she said.
"His favourite movies were comedies, musicals and historically correct shows, he never watched war movies. He did love Power Of One and had a soft spot for the movie Miss Congeniality."
The text inside the 'borrowing books' included with each DVD library state: 'Keith Stollznow was a resident here, after moving down from Noosa where he lived with his much loved wife, Irene. He loved watching a movie or two most days, and grew to have quite the collection. His family thought there was no better way to honour him than to donate his collection to the place that showed him the greatest respect during the last years of his life'.
