Rosalind Gentle celebrated her 100th birthday on September 7, 2024. The matriarch was surrounded by family, friends, and neighbours who gathered at the Biche Community Centre to mark the special occasion.
Roman Catholic priest Fr Kenwyn Sylvester, and Sophia Kennedy and Kienan Alvarez Inspector Is from the Division of Ageing of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services also attended the celebration commemorating this milestone.
As part of the National Centenarian Programme, she was presented with a Certificate of Achievement and Honour, a Vemco hamper, and a birthday cake sponsored by the Kiss Baking Company.
Minister of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox said she will be presenting her with a ‘100 years’ gold medal which has already been ordered. According to the ministry, the medal features “an antique gold design reminiscent of the deep sense of reverence, compassion and generosity that are traditionally associated with older people.” The medal will be engraved with the centenarian’s full name and date of birth.
Gentle’s pearls of wisdom and advice to young people are to work hard for what you want and to focus on your education. Gentle, also known as Rose, Mama, Tanty Rose, Aunty Rose, and Mama Rose by many, was born on September 4, 1924, to Phillip Gentle and Estephanie Pierre in the village of Coalmine, a few kilometres from Sangre Grande.
She grew up in Navet and Cushe villages and attended the Navet Presbyterian Primary School. Gentle had nine brothers and five sisters, and today one brother and two sisters are alive.
Speaking to WE magazine, Gentle said, “Growing up and in my younger years, I worked in the land, planting rice, dasheen, cassava, corn, peas, and picking coffee in the estates of Biche. The family would plant the land and reap the produce for my stepfather to sell in the market.
“One of my favourite memories was having to meet my stepfather in Rio Claro when he came off the train after he sold in the market and helped him with the foodstuff he would have bought on his way back home.”
Gentle said that her mother, who lived beyond 100 years, was a disciplinarian and taught her the value of hard work.
When she was in her 20s, Gentle met Alston Thomas, who passed away at the age of 77 in September 1999. Together they had nine children, eight of whom are alive, and one child died at an early age. She has 12 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
She is in excellent health but has been blind for the past 50 years as she has lost her sight through glaucoma. This did not keep Gentle back from doing her daily chores and tending to her many ornamental plants, which she took up as a hobby in her later years.
When she was in her 70s, she had an unfortunate accident where she fell off the stairs and broke her leg. Despite this injury, Gentle recovered speedily and never complained about any discomfort even to this day, a testimony to her strength, despite her small stature.
Today, she sits at home and enjoys listening to music on the radio and chats with her daughter, Ann, who takes care of her. Gentle said she especially looks forward to when her brother and sisters visit from abroad and when other relatives come.
When asked about her secret to longevity, she credits her long life to heredity, as her mother and many brothers and sisters lived well into their 90s. Gentle also attributes her long life to eating healthy and the good care she gets from her daughter. She said her favourite meals are dasheen and saltfish and coo-coo and fish.
