REUBINA ELISE CLARKE had 100 reasons to smile yesterday.
She reached a treasured milestone of 100 years and said she “feels very good indeed”.
She told Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave, friends and family: “I have faith in God. If I didn’t have faith in God, I could not get here so I give him the praise and thanks for what He has done for me.”
Clarke, who has one child, five grands, seven great-grands and five great-great-grands, said she worked as a cook at several places before retiring.
“I worked hard, very hard,” said Clarke, of Lower Streats Road, Clapham, St Michael, as she sat at Champers Restaurant & Wine Bar.
She added she was a very strict parent who only wanted the best for her child and other relatives.
Great-grandson Michael Browne, in toasting the matriarch, thanked her for the hard work she put in over the decades.
“I know it has not always been easy and I know you’ve worked hard and tirelessly to provide for your children and your grandchildren,” he said.
Clarke said she ate a lot when she was growing up.
“I ate rice, macaroni pie, sweet potato, every kind of thing because my mother was a woman who liked to cook. I used to eat hearty, hearty, hearty.” (AD)
