Francine Black, Staff Reporter
Centenarian Francis Piper smiles for the camera.
At 103 years old, Francis Piper is thanking God for her century on this earth.
Piper was born Francis Thomas on June 4, 1904 in Water Works, Westmoreland. She attended the Petersfield Elementary School and then worked as a domestic helper for some time before she started selling clothes.
She later married, however Piper does not seem to remember her husband's name nor when she married. She later moved to Kingston and began to earn her living by selling clothes between Westmoreland and Kingston.
RECOMMITTING HER LIFE
Since recommitting her life to God in 1943, Piper has been a dedicated member of the Jordan Road New Testament Church of God in Kingston
Piper's years of commitment were recognised by the church when she was 96 years old.
Her son was killed when he returned to live in Jamaica from England. She now lives with her daughter Myrtle Salmon on Maxfield Avenue in Kingston.
Piper adopted Salmon when she was three years old and after her son died
Piper likes to sleep a lot, however she continues to be a healthy woman. She can see and has difficulty hearing, but she loves to smile.
GIVING GOD THANKS
She said she is happy about being 103, but did not want to give a time on how much longer she thinks she will live. "Me give God thanks," she said.
She is at least the second person to live to be over a 100 in her community. Her grandmother Rebecca Campbell had lived to be 103.
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