Centenarian, Jestina Douglas (left), who is blind, listens to her daughter Winnifred Douglas during her 100th birthday party at Capri Road, Bridgeport, Portmore, St. Catherine, recently. - Anthony Minott

Centenarian Jestina Douglas celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family at 31 Capri Close in Bridgeport, Portmore, St. Catherine, on Saturday, October 6.

Jestina Douglas, the grandmother of the family has the distinction of taking care of almost all if not all of the children in the family.

"A lot of children pass through her hands," Dorothy Douglas-Jacobs, her eldest daughter said. "When the parents not looking after the children, she buys them books and send them to school. "Mamma is a hardworking person, sympathetic and kind. She is a mother to everyone, she will take the last that she has and give someone," Mrs. Douglas-Jacobs said.

She added that Mamma Douglas once grew a bunch of plantains and when it was ripe she gave it away to someone in need, and went and bought plantain for herself. "That's the way she is, and she feels much better doing it," Mamma Douglas daughter noted.

Mama Douglas, as she is affectionately called, has four children Neville Douglas (deceased), Dorothy Douglas-Jacobs, Winifred Douglas, and Lascelles Lawrence. She also has 18 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren and 30 great-great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Douglas, who is blind, woke up for a while to greet Life & Times with her children, grand- and great-grandchildren surrounding her.

Mama Douglas was born on October 7, 1907, in Dundee, Westmoreland. She did her schooling at an elementary school in Seaford Town. From there, she met and married Rupert Constantine Douglas in the 1930s.

They lived at 32 Young Street in Spanish Town. Mama Douglas stayed at home and took care of the children. When Mr. Douglas died in 1950, Mama Douglas went to live with one of her daughters Dorothy Douglas-Jacobs in the 1950s. Mrs. Douglas-Jacobs was married to Assistant Commissioner of Police Roy Constantine Jacobs in 1955.

With the hectic work schedule and travelling of the assistant commissioner, Mama Douglas and the fam-ily were constantly on the go. So they called various parts of Jamaica their home. Kingston, St. Thomas and St. Mary were some of the places they lived.

The family came to Portmore in 1973, and have lived there ever since.

Mama Douglas' husband fought in World War II for the Royal Air Force from 1939-45.

Her children have followed their father's footsteps by serving in the military.

Grandchildren: Jean Grant, served in the U.S. Navy in New York, Paul Jacobs served in the U.S. Air Force, and his brother Peter Jacobs also in the U.S. Air force.

Rev. Garnett Roper, head pastor of the Portmore Missionary Church, and Pat Poruondo, the coordinator of the Senior Citizens Ministry of the same church, brought greetings from their church, which is located just a stone's throw away.

Rev. Roper prayed for the centenarian and hoped that God blessed her. "When we celebrate a 100 years, we are thanking God for immeasurable goodness," he said.