Happy 100th birthday to Lanark's Jessie Dewson

Still fabulous at 100, Jessie Dewson celebrates with staff at Beechgrove Care Home in Lanark.

And staff were on hand to make sure the day was memorable for Jessie Dewson, who reached the milestone of her 100th birthday.

Suzanne Turner was among the team who helped make her day special.

She said: “Jessie is fabulous for her age – she has a better memory than most of the staff!

"She celebrated her birthday with us and had a wonderful day, despite the Covid restrictions.”

Jessie was born on June 15, 1921, in her parents’ tiny home in New Lanark, the attic room of 10 Double Row.

The room was reliant on paraffin for heat and light; water had to be collected from the stand pipe in the street. The toilet was also outside, at the back of the building in Water Row.

Suzanne said: “It was quite a testing start to life but, not too long after, the family moved to Caithness Row in the village to a flat with running water and an inside toilet!”

Jessie spent her younger years in New Lanark before moving to Lanark, initially living in Castlegate.

In 1940, she married her husband Dykes Dewson who, at the time, was in the RAF.

The couple set up home in Castlegate but later moved to Waverley Crescent, where Jessie lived from 1951 to September last year.

She and Dykes had one son and she now has four grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. Sadly, most of the extended family now live at some distance – in Surrey, London, Kentucky and Grand Cayman.

However, they all sent Jessie their best wishes for her 100th birthday, as did Her Majesty the Queen.

A fall in September last year saw Jessie fracturing her hip and that resulted in her moving to Beechgrove Care Home, where she has quickly become much-loved by staff and is now happily settled.

Thankfully, the accommodation she enjoys now is far more salubrious than the one she first had to face as an infant in New Lanark!

Jessie has witnessed many advances in her 100 years, including telephones, televisions, washing machines, microwaves, computers and mobile phones .

And she’s still enjoying life – happy birthday Jessie!