One is that a few times every week, the 97-year-old rides her bike over the Wimmera River bridge to work out at a gymnasium.

The other is the support she receives from her family and Phillip Nicks, her legatee for the past 17 years.

"He's been a great help and a very good friend," she said. "He rings me occasionally to see if I'm OK. When I went to England one time, he helped me get the tickets and all that involved.

"I've also got three children, ten grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. I'm so lucky to have great family support."

Having grown up in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris, Mrs Ladlow moved to the Wimmera after meeting her eventual husband - Dooen farmer David Ladlow - while on holiday with the Johns family.

"It was a bit of a change coming to a wheat farm, but it was great fun all in all," she said.

Jean and David married in 1947, two years after Mr Ladlow served in World War Two as a transport driver in New Guinea and Darwin, after the bombing. Mrs Ladlow said her husband didn't talk much about his service.

Mrs Ladlow first connected with Wimmera Legacy in 1992, after her husband David died of lung cancer at the age of 77.

"The soldiers were encouraged to smoke during the war, and because so many of them died of lung cancer later on, the cancers were treated as being caused by cigarette smoking," she said.

"Legacy looked after me when we knew he was going to die. Before Phillip, there was a couple who lived and worked in an office in Horsham and they were very helpful."

Mr Nicks, Wimmera Legacy's sergeant-at-arms, supports three war widows in the region aside from Mrs Ladlow.

He said the point of being a legatee was to be there in case people like Jean needed them.

"She can ring me, or I'll ring here and we'll talk about all sorts of things over a cup of tea," he said.

Legacy was initiated in 1923 and assists descendants of deceased servicemen and women.

Mr Nicks said 38 Legatees voluntarily cared for 170 widows across the Wimmera and Southern Mallee, and was about to embark on its annual badge selling week which kicks off on Monday September 2.

"The money raised will go towards supporting them financially with things like firewood and with activities," he said.

"Every year we have the badge week, and it amazes me how many people know nothing about legacy. A lot of people have never heard of it, so we just really want to promote the fact legacy is there. It's all self-funded."

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox twice weekly from the Wimmera Mail-Times. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Wimmera, sign up below.