Four nursing home beds, a grandchild's suicide and solo road tripping: Pinjarra grandmother Loretta Eddy talks about what inspires her zest for life

She would race room to room to make sure all four were doing okay, juggle bills to make sure four beds were paid for.

Those four people were her husband, her mum, her dad, and her step dad and the grief she faced as they passed away in quick succession nearly brought the vibrant Pinjarra woman to a grinding halt.

That wasn't even her lowest point.

Two years later her 15-year-old grandson, Austin died by suicide and she was again consumed with pain.

"I thought I would never surface from that. Every time I got up, there was something else to knock me down."

While life has thrown her enough curve balls recently that might cause others to curl up on the couch (no judgement there), Loretta is doing quite the opposite.

"I could choose to stay home and say 'woe is me'," Loretta says.

Instead, she keeps a busy schedule of volunteering at Peel Health Campus, looking after grandchildren and solo exploring the Peel region and further afield.

"Too many of my friends have passed away in tragic circumstances. But I have a chance to live my life...every day I want to embrace every good thing that's in my life."

She is the epitome of lighting up a room with her rainbow hair, her good humour and an uncanny ability to see who needs a kind word.

She is the woman who goes into the palliative care unit at the Mandurah hospital and says 'Which party are we going to when we get out of here?'

The one who dons a lace dress and mesh stockings and hops on a Harley Davidson to fundraise for sick children.

The one who went to Bedingfeld Lodge in Pinjarra every day to be with her dying family members and despite her own heartache would get the residents up and dancing and the immobile ones twirling around in their wheelchairs.

"I've done my job, if I've made people smile," she says.

This woman is no stranger to the Mandurah Mail. She was the pacing writer for an impressive 22 years until caring for sick family members forced her to quit.

While she has written countless stories for Mail readers, it's the first time the Mail has told her story.

We wanted to do so, because we knew her story would inspire others.

The grandmother of 12 (plus one in heaven) debunks any myths that you need company or youth to adventure.

A weekend isn't a weekend for her without a trip, often to Dwellingup - her favourite - but also to Mundijong, Jarrahdale, to Mandurah.

In fact, "the merry widow" - as she's known by her neighbours - has become so adept at finding the best travel gems, that her advice is in demand.

"I think I should just get a little bus with Jenny [her daughter-in-law] as a driver while I drink wine and play tour guide," she laughs.

Not long ago she took some volunteering colleagues on a tour of Dwellingup and just last week a group of friends.

"I took them to Nanga (bush), then back to Winetree Cidery for a share platter, parked on Dwellingup's main street for a visit to the quirky Wild Squeeze, back to Vergone's orchard then showed them Caraholly orchard," Loretta says.

"Because I've been doing this for a while, everywhere I go now girls are saying, 'when is it time for us to go?'"

Read also: Mandurah woman's close-to-heart mission to raise funds for breast cancer

If there's anyone who has the passion and the local knowledge to lead tour groups in the area it would be her.

But for now her she is prioritising being "the cool nana" hanging out with her grandies including the most recent additions, twin boys Noah and Levi, 3 and Amelia, 2.

But despite an attitude that radiates life and joy, Loretta says there is still some pain underneath.

"I've come to terms with everyone else's death but Austin's. He was such a loving grandson and I saw him just the day before...he had the world at his feet. People tell me you never see the signs of when people commit suicide and I think that's true."

Her experience so far, she says, is that even out of sad situations have come the most beautiful things. (For example, she developed a beautiful friendship with the doctor who was with her mum when she passed away, he even sought her out and made her a cake for her birthday.)

Stay posted, she says, there are more beautiful things to come.