KINGSTON, Jamaica — One hundred years of life is no easy feat. And for that accomplishment, centenarian Violet May Bryan is giving gratitude to God for “permitting me this long”.

Born on March 3, 1925 in St Catherine, Bryan on Sunday marked her milestone 100th year surrounded by family and loved ones.

Reflecting on her journey, she told Observer Online: “I didn’t know that I really would live that long…I feel wonderfully great. The most important thing is that I am giving God the praise and the glory for bringing me this far. This grace of God has kept me all these years and I feel blessed to have my children and grandchildren, and God has blessed me with lovely, lovely daughters-in-law…and my children have taken so good care of me, I can’t desire more. I am blessed that way. Thank God for that.”

Violet May Bryan is surrounded by her family and friends for her 100th year celebration.

Violet is the last surviving sibling of 15. Widowed in 1980, she has six sons — Lloyd, Neville, Paul, Michael (deceased), Richard, and Garth — and one daughter, Hope Jaghai. She also has a stepson, Delroy, and an adopted daughter, Cecile.

She revealed that her secret to longevity is remaining humble and living a calm, simple life.

“Just a humble, plain life. No fuss — and church,” she said.

A devoted Christian, Violet’s advice to the younger generation is to remain humble, show respect and care for older individuals.

Violet May Bryan

“Well, I would like to pass on to the young generation that they must be humble, have manners, and they must always remember to take care of the older folks because sometimes they don’t want to go around with the older folks. That is a message I’m leaving them, to have manners to their parents, to their teachers, and to whomever they come in contact with, just have manners and respect,” she shared.

Her daughter Hope described Violet as active and energetic, despite her age. Detailing her mother’s routine, Hope said: “She gets up in the morning, like five and reads her Bible, says her prayers, takes a cold shower. After her cold shower, she has her coffee and then does her exercise every morning — she goes for a walk with her friends, she makes like three laps around the scheme. From COVID, they sort of cut back but she does her exercise — she goes on her back, does her bicycle, and then she does her push-ups, which I can’t do. And the rest of the day, she’s in her garden.”

She continued, “We have somebody who takes care of her but she’s in the kitchen with them, and telling them what to do, how to season the meat, how to grater the onion and everything, and when she ready, she cook. Up to about three weeks ago, she was cooking Sunday dinner… That keeps her going. She can’t sit. She said ‘when God ready for me, him ready for me, but I cannot sit, I have to be doing something — She’s really active.”

Her son Garth highlighted other interests of the centenarian.

“She loves to watch the school challenge quiz with the kids at the primary and high school level. And she listens to the news. If you’re on the phone with her and it’s time for news, she tells you that she has to go and she doesn’t want to miss the news, and she goes and listens to her news,” he said.

Acknowledging her love for a clean environment, he said, “If it’s not up to her standard, she does it herself as old as she is. Sometimes, we have to try to get her away from going outside, and sweeping the yard. She does it every once in a while…We know it’s a dangerous thing because we don’t want her to fall but we do allow her just to satisfy her — with limitations.”

Garth went on to describe his mother as a deeply caring and giving person, always thinking of others.

“She’s very loving, very considerate of others. She’s a giver. Even across the street from us, there’s a lady — she’s in her 90s — she has bad arthritis. She makes sure she’s okay. She’ll say ‘when you last hear from Miss Ricketts?’ If no one hears from her, she’ll send someone there to make sure that she’s okay,” he shared.

“Everybody knows her and they gravitate towards her because she’s very easy to get along with…She’s just a sweet person,” he continued.

Violet’s love for animals and nature is another part of her vibrant personality.

“She loves her chickens and her plants. (The chickens) even though we don’t eat them, she feeds them, they will come up and she goes out and she buys corn for them and she’ll feed them. If the corn runs out, she gives them rice, whatever the case is, but those are the things that she looks forward to,” her son added.

— Kelsey Thomas