After 50 years of dedicated volunteer work, 91-year-old pink lady Deborah Butterfield has decided to put her feet up last Thursday for a well-deserved rest.

Mrs. Butterfield, the wife of late Dudley Butterfield, first began working with the Hospital Auxiliary of Bermuda in the late 1940s when she decided to volunteer in the organisation with her best friend.

Her hard working, no nonsense approach have earned her the respect and admiration of all the pink ladies at the hospital who honoured her commitment to volunteer work at a lunch yesterday afternoon.

Throughout her years at King Edward IIV Memorial Hospital Mrs. Butterfield has worked on flower arranging, making beds in the wards and in the hospital cafeteria as well as at the front desk where she has sharpened her skills on the computer.

She was President of the Hospital Auxiliary of Bermuda from 1972-1973. Originally from Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada, Mrs. Butterfield can remember her mother working as a volunteer nurse at the local tuberculosis hospital.

While raising her own family Mrs. Butterfield remained dedicated to the HAB out of her commitment to helping other people.

?Volunteer work is satisfying, I?ve done it for so many years because I feel that I?m doing a good job,? she said. ?It?s also about companionship and doing a job that has to be done.?

The veteran pink lady is well-known in the community through the work of her children Peggy, Jimmy, George, and Tom, who have all gone on to successful careers in Bermuda and Canada. Working as a volunteer for 50 years has meant she has seen some changes, from male volunteers joining the ranks fifteen years ago, to the pink ladies getting their own flower arranging room.

?We used to have to arrange the flowers in what we called the ?sluiche? ? the room where all the bed pans were dumped in the sink in front of you, it was just awful, we were so excited when we got our own room,? she said.

Mrs. Butterfield is encouraging residents to get involved in volunteer work.