Passion, Gratitude, Loneliness - Some Experiences of Centenarians Plus

One thing that is very common amongst people who reach 100 and more is the fact that they have had in their lives a real passion. Take for example Rena Ward who is 100 and says she still dreams about dancing - not about getting old, she says! Rena started dancing at the age of eight and continued into her 90s. That certainly demonstrates a passion and she says even now she still moves her hands and feet about as though she were dancing.

Alice Leake, 103, says she used to do a lot of needlework and taught it too but now she can't even hold a needle. She says she does often feel very old but other times she feels she can do anything which she says is "quite good really!"

One thing many such old people experience is loneliness however. Tessa Grimes says she she is lonely because she doesn't get out much but she does say she likes reading which gives her a break from the housework. She comments that her sister is 96 but is in bed all the time which is hard work for her daughter.

Similarly Sister Margaret Grimsdale is, she says, very low in spirits, and no longer socialises. She says now she has reached 100 she will probably be dead in a few weeks. she is looking forward to being with the Lord as she can see little point in carrying on. But the passion is there for the Lord.

105-year-old Nora Hardwick says she has always kept her brain active by doing crosswords and reading and that her family take good care of her. In Nora there is much gratitude for having reached such a great age and she treats every day as a bonus. All the females in her family lived well into their 90s.

Helen Turner is 101 and says she doesn't remember much about her 100th birthday celebration as she was too drunk! She hopes to live to 120...

A shining inspiration to us all is Alice Herz-Sommer, 108, who survived the concentration camps due to the fact she was a gifted musician. Her only son died at 64 - he was a gifted musician too. Alice says: When we are old, we are aware of the beauty of life. Young people take everything for granted. It all depends on the character you’re born with." Alice learns Bach by heart as a remedy for her forgetfulness and she still plays the piano. What passion and zest for life is that?

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