A woman in Whiteinch turned 100 years old this weekend and her family explain the impact that she has had on their own lives as they welcomed the birth of a fifth living generation to the family.
Sarah Jane Kelly celebrated her 100th birthday in her own home on Saturday, July 11.
The Clydebank Post visited her the day before her birthday, when she had just received her letter from the King to mark the occasion.
She said: “I can’t believe it, I’m so emotional and grateful. I’ve never seen so many flowers and cards in my life.”
Sarah is well-loved in the community, having moved to Whiteinch from the outskirts of Belfast over 70 years ago.
She was one of the first residents to move into the block of flats when they were first built, and she has lived there ever since.
She’s lived through every change in the building, even a fire that took grip in the next door flat seven years ago, which left her trapped in her own flat for 10 hours.
Shirley Pettigrew, her granddaughter, said: “Nothing seems to phase her.”
Talking on what it was like growing up with her gran, Shirley added: “She always had food on the go for anyone that walked through the door.
“She used to tell us stories about how the community would help each other and bounce off each other when they needed it, before they got their wage.
“Both her and my grandad used to have soup made for the neighbours and everything. She used to feed everybody on each floor.
“We’d been going with trays of food to everyone’s flat; it was soup, a main meal and a pudding."
To highlight her kind acts and community support, she was awarded a certificate from the housing association for being a good neighbour.
This love extends far beyond just the building she lives in, as the community centre has decided to organise a 100th birthday celebration off its own back to mark the incredible milestone.
Sarah was a nurse in Knightswood Hospital, which has since been closed, for 14 years before she retired, a job she loved.
She used to cycle there and back every day.
Reflecting on this memory, Bettie Cain, her daughter, said: “When she went on holiday one year, my dad, her husband, got rid of the bike because he said it was getting too dangerous.”
She joked: “That didn’t go down too well.”
Reflecting on the impact that Sarah has had on all of their lives growing up, they noted the selflessness she embodies, and her ability to give with no questions asked.
Speaking on this, Shirley said: “She’s taught us to give our last penny to help someone.
“If people are at the door, we make sure there’s always something on the table for them just like my Gran always has.
“All the people on Sauchiehall Street, the homeless, we take them into Primark and make sure they have something warm, because that’s what she always did.
“It’s learnt behaviour.”
In relation to this, Bettie said: “I can’t walk past someone on the street, I have to buy them a warm quilt or a jacket or some food.
“You never know when that could be you, that’s what she’s taught me.”
Adding to this, Shirley said: “I think what I’ve learnt is just her way, don’t do a lot of chastising, don’t see people at face value, and if you can help somebody then do.”
Her 100th birthday comes just four weeks after the birth of her great-great granddaughter, which welcomed the addition of a fifth living generation to the family.
Sarah added: “Well I started it, five generations, but if there’s any more, I’ll have to get another house! I’m so pleased, she’s beautiful.”
Shirley added: “It needs to be marked as it is very few and far between that you come across a situation like that, 100 years between them, it’s such a privilege.”
