{"id":153622,"date":"2017-06-13T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-13T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/153622\/momentous-milestone-for-violet\/"},"modified":"2017-06-13T22:10:30","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T20:10:30","slug":"momentous-milestone-for-violet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2017\/06\/13\/momentous-milestone-for-violet\/","title":{"rendered":"Momentous birthday milestone for Violet"},"content":{"rendered":"

She has walked a long road and last Tuesday, Violet Whitbread celebrated her 101st birthday.<\/p>\n

The Protea Old Age Home resident is still full of life and was thrilled when staff and fellow residents celebrated her big day with her.<\/p>

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\u201cI am going to pray to the Lord and thank him for all of you,\u201d said an emotional Violet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am also going to thank him for taking care of me.\u201d<\/p>

<\/div>\n

Violet is the oldest resident at the home and staff spoilt her with a towel set specially embroidered with her name.<\/p>\n

Born in England in 1916, Violet grew up in a village called Willingale, in the Epping Forest district of Essex.<\/p>\n

Violet married Charles in 1937 and they had one son, Ian.<\/p>\n

The couple moved to Cape Town in 1985 after visiting their son and his wife, Jeanine.<\/p>\n

They liked what they saw and decided to relocate.<\/p>\n

In 1993, the family moved to Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

Among other things, Violet was among those who worked in the fields, picking cotton flowers during World War Two.<\/p>\n

Violet trained as a teacher and enjoyed a number of hobbies, including art and knitting, in her younger years.<\/p>\n

She also loved gardening.<\/p>\n

A year before Violet\u2019s husband\u2019s death in 2005 at the age of 94, Violet became blind but she has never let that stop her from enjoying life.<\/p>\n