Simone Charles celebrates 100th birthday |14 December 2020
Mrs Charles on the day she celebrated her 100th birthday (Photo: Jude Morel)
Simone Charles, the mother of former President James Michel, celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday in the presence of her family and friends in a special mass at the St Elizabeth Chapel.
Mrs Charles, who has nine children – 2 daughters and 7 sons – has spent most of her life residing at English River where she is known by many people as Mrs Michel or Granny.
The mass was presided over by Deacon Louis Agathine, a family friend, who shared anecdotes about Mrs Charles and her children.
During the service Mrs Charles received gift hampers from various governmental departments including the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, which was presented to her by Dan Frichot, special advisor for the local government department, who passed on birthday wishes from Minister Rose-Marie Hoareau.
She also received gifts from the MNA of English River, Hon. Andy Labonte, and from the National Council for the Elderly.
Following the service, Mrs Charles, who is still very active, told the press that she is very happy to be able to celebrate her 100th birthday even though she never thought she would reach this milestone.
Eddie Charles, the youngest of the nine siblings, is caretaker of his mother and noted that her usual day include doing chores like cooking food and knitting. She is also an avid reader who rarely relies on reading glasses.
“Her health is stable, she has a bit of diabetes and high blood pressure which is normal for her age but she eats healthy which contributes to her good health,” he said.
Mr Charles urged everyone with an elderly mother to take good care of them as they are the cradle of love in our lives. He added that one of the reasons his mom has lived this long is because she is constantly surrounded by loved ones.
Simone Charles currently has 16 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren who all wished their granny a very happy birthday.
Christophe Zialor