Christian Care’s Hopkinsville campus hosted a very special birthday celebration last month. Residents, families and staff members joined together to host a recognition party for four residents — all of whom were either celebrating their 100th birthdays this year or in a very special case, a 104th birthday! With cake, special recognition awards and applause, it was a very entertaining afternoon for all.
Here are our “Centenarians” (photos at right, from top to bottom:)
Ms. Christine Gee will be 104 in September 2017. She was a homemaker during her long lifetime and loved gardening and planting flowers in her yard. Well known for in her neighborhood for making taffy for local children, she loved her church and attended every occasion she could. In fact, she started driving at age 60 so she could attend church and go to the grocery. She’s a longtime resident of Christian Care.
Ms. Nell Lilly’s 100th birthday was in May 2017. She’s a very social person, who loves to play golf, the piano and bridge with her friends. An avid Bingo player, she’s well-known to other residents at Christian Care.
Ms. Bertha Curry is a retired school teacher from West Virginia. She enjoyed her time teaching and watching her children learn and grow. She loves to cook, sew and embroidery. Bertha turned 100 in January and in her long lifetime she enjoyed traveling, visiting nearly every state in the United States.
Ms. Jewel McCoy will celebrate her 100th birthday in November 2017. She was a homemaker and loved taking care of her sons. She loves to make crafts, cross-stitching and doing needle point. She is an avid UK fan and loves “Big Blue” basketball. Regular visits from her grandchildren and great grandchildren make her day at Christian Care.
Centenarians are a growing group in Christian Care’s state-wide communities — just as all over the U.S. The proportion of the population aged over 85 has almost doubled in the past two decades, with those reaching 100 and over growing at nearly the same rate. Many believe expanding health care, better activity levels and simple “life experience” play an important role in longevity.
Just think about today’s centenarians and their life course: Born during America’s entry into the First World War, they were teenagers in the Great Depression and young, service-aged men and women during World War II. They reached middle-age during the ’60s and retired in the 80’s. With a lifetime of experiences, they seem to have a way of coping with stress, value their well-being and spiritual fulfillment and have an appreciative attitude to life that’s maybe a bit more positive than expected.
Join us in celebration of four very special lives! Happy Birthday to all our Centenarians!
