I feel the same at 100, says centenarian

A warm smile greeted us, and then a curious Olive Dixon remarked, “I wonder what you want to talk to me about.”

Dixon, a retired dietician, was born on November 14, 1920, in Kingston and recently celebrated her 100th birthday at her Meadowbrook home.

“Apart from a little discomfort, I feel the same. I hear about this 100, but I don’t know that it feels any different; but I like to be involved in activities,” the centenarian told The Gleaner last Monday.

She is the second of three sisters, both of whom predeceased her – the eldest at 90 in 2007, and the youngest at 93 in 2019.

Dixon recalled that she was a lover of games and spent loads of time playing outdoors.

“They used to tell me, ‘Come out of the sun, child.’ I used to romp a lot, burst out all mi shoes, but I still like outdoors,” Dixon recounted.

Music Lessons

Her niece, Carolyn Allen, told The Gleaner that her aunt began music lessons at an early age, shortly after she moved to Montego Bay with her older sister.

“She remembered the first day. The teacher took her to church for her to try to play the organ, but her feet couldn’t reach the pedals. So, very disappointed, they had to go back home without that lesson,” she said.

As a child, Dixon began playing the piano for Sunday school events and later became an organist at the Wesley Methodist Church, where she served for more than three decades.

A graduate of Shortwood Teachers’ College, she taught for a few years and then proceeded to New York University to pursue studies in nutrition.

She returned to Jamaica and worked at the Black River and Savanna-la-Mar hospitals, the latter being where she had her longest stint.

Dixon retired from the Westmoreland-based hospital in December 1992, at age 72, and was further engaged on post-retirement contracts.

She never got married nor had children.

Patty and pizza are among her favourite things to eat and she does not refuse ice cream, especially if it’s rum and raisin-flavoured.

“I don’t know if it contributed to her longevity, but she was very much into health supplements. She would change her pension check and buy a whole range – omega-3, vitamin C, and magnesium,” Allen said.

She further noted that her aunt does not have a special diet, but eats whatever is prepared for the family.

“She’s still trying to adjust her diet to deal with whatever issue she has. So, if she’s belching a lot, she wants to know what’s causing it or how to stop it,” Allen explained.

She continued:“She doesn’t have a spirit of ‘I have lived too long, it’s time to go.’ If something is wrong, we have to fix it.”

Stroke

In December 2018, she suffered a stroke which rendered her bed-ridden, but prior to that, she spent lots of time playing the piano and gardening.

“Her fun times now are when Kimberly, the physiotherapist, comes and chats and exercises her limbs. She likes singing hymns and playing waltz music,” her niece shared.

Having spent plenty of time at church, she knows most hymns by heart and when asked about her favourite, she admitted that there were too many to count.

Then a request was made for her to sing a hymn:“Carolyn, tell them that I’ve been croaking for a while,” she said with a chuckle.

The centenarian pointed out that she is hard of hearing and cannot see clearly.

“My eyes are dim. I can’t see your features, but I can make out your form. I can see you shaking your head, but I can’t tell you how pretty you are,” she said.

Meanwhile, her grand-niece, Twyla Allen, shared that she spends a lot of time speaking with her and they compare current happenings to the past.

“She always says, ‘If you really love food, you have to try things,” Twyla said.

For Carolyn, she relishes every opportunity to sing with her.

“She gives us lots of jokes. Every now and again I say to her, ‘You have to understand that, once a man, twice a child, and at your age some things will go.’ Her response was, ‘I’ve never been a man.’”

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com