The grandmother of one says she remembers meeting her husband at work when he came to make a presentation about a teachers' credit union.

"He kept winking at me ," she says.

It was after his sixth attempt to take her out that Ms Donaghey finally gave in and went on a date.

"We were married within nine months," she says.

After the death of her husband of 25 years last August, the librarian teacher, 59, took a year off to focus on herself.

"My whole life has changed. I am no longer living as part of a pair."

Instead of wallowing in despair, the former teacher at Westbourne Grammar in Hoppers Crossing is taking the chance to start afresh.

"I could say I am old now, but I have a lot to offer," Ms Donaghey says. It includes continuing to volunteerat the Blacksmith's Shop and Cottage book barn in Bacchus Marsh two days a week.

"A variety of people come into the barn. It is a trip down memory lane for the older people as there are old implements from the '60s, and for the young ones it's an educational visit."

But what Ms Donaghey loves most about her time at the barn is the chance to chat to the elderly.

"They have so many stories to tell about the town."

An avid reader herself, Ms Donaghey also likes to introduce people to new authors or genres.

The first-generation Australian of Ukrainian heritage says her plans include a trip with a friend to her parents' homeland - a place she has never visited.

"I don't know what the future holds.

"I feel the reasons for being me haven't been achieved.

"There is something ahead, something exciting in the future.

"I feel there is a book in me."