TAKING IT EASY: Ada Ford Reynolds relaxes in her chair. - Ian AllenBy DAVID DUNKLEY,
Staff Reporter
HARD work brings success and apparently a long life. At least this is how it is in the case of 100-year-old Ada Ford Reynolds.
This centenarian from Flagaman in Black River, St. Elizabeth, says she never thought she would have lived to be a hundred and see the fruits of her labours, especially after the way she laboured.
"I never thought I would have lived to be a hundred because I worked hard during my lifetime," Mrs. Reynolds said, sitting in a wheelchair on her veranda enjoying the late morning breeze under overcast skies. "I'm feeling fine and I thank God for being alive."
Dolores "Zel" Henry, one of Reynolds' daughters, told THE STAR that her mother used to work so hard. "As children we used to worry what would happen to us if she died, she was always busy," she said.
She said her mother was active up to when she turned 90 and then she had a bad fall. She underwent surgery but has not been able to walk since. She has been confined to a wheelchair but even then she still tries to do things around the house.
Mrs. Henry described her mom as a no-nonsense person who was very caring. "Although she did not have her husband by her side, not one day passed without her feeding other children apart from us," she said. "When there was drought and she had water she gave to the whole community, so much so, than when she ran out of water they brought water for her."
Henry, who is Reynolds' fourth child, said the only way she would like to live to be a hundred is if she would be able to take care of herself. "But that's in God's hands, its not for me to choose," she pointed out.
Mrs. Reynolds was born in Great Bay, St. Elizabeth, on December 15, 1899, and recalls attending the Sandy Bank Elementary School.
After leaving school, she said she went into the family business, managing a grocery store they owned.
Reynolds is from a large family, having six sisters and five brothers. She says she has a brother and three sisters still alive, the youngest of which is 82 years old.
Longevity, it seems, runs in her family. Reynolds had an uncle who lived to be 105 and another family member lived to be 115 years.
She was married to James Nathaniel Reynolds for 15 years before he died in 1944. She recalled that her husband, who was a successful fisherman, owned five boats and had a lot of property.
All of her five children are still alive. Two of them live abroad. She has five grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
She recalled being a close friend of National Hero Norman Manley. She said whenever he was passing through her district he would always stop and visit her.
She said that in her day there were hardly any killings and everywhere you went was so nice and wonderful and people were always friendly.
She feels the reason why there are so many killings and other crimes nowadays is because people have no money, no income, and want help. When these issues are addressed, she said, there will definitely be a downturn in crime.
She advises people wishing to live as long as she has to "trust God and do what is right and always try to help the poor and give what you have, even if it is a little bit".
