Wearing a crown of brightly coloured flowers, Theresa Marie Light sat front and centre, looking much like a queen greeting her loyal subjects this weekend.
Approximately 40 people flowed through the doors of Barrie’s Knights of Columbus Hall to celebrate the longtime Barrie resident’s 100th birthday during a celebration held on Saturday. But Light officially turns 100 today.
Surrounded by friends and family, Light told BarrieToday she was surprised with the turnout.
“I didn’t know who all was coming,” she said in between well wishes from loved ones. “It’s nice to see everybody again.”
Light, who grew up in Lafontaine near Midland, followed in her father’s footsteps and became a teacher, working in many one-room school houses in and around Tiny Township, before finishing her career in Barrie at St. Mary's Catholic School and St. Monica’s Catholic School. She has lived in Barrie since the 1950s.
While she couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason for her longevity, she joked it could be due — at least in part — to not eating fried foods.
Never one to sit idle, Light also never shied away from a challenge.
“Anything that came along, I tried,” she said.
Light also liked to keep her hands busy with things like knitting and embroidery.
Brother Tom McNamara was among the party-goers and shared a memory of his sister that he admitted was hard to forget.
“She was teaching down at Thunder Beach and driving along. She saw something on the road and she thought it was a cardboard box. It was a stump, so she damaged the car. Frank, her husband, wasn’t too happy because it was a brand new car,” he exclaimed.
However, that didn’t deter his sister from getting behind the wheel again, McNamara added.
Niece Suzanne Simmons fondly remembers how her aunt used to win their golfing games.
“She and my mom went out (golfing) one time. She talked us into having some of her homemade wine. … And we had a blast... but I figured out that’s how Aunt Theresa wins at golf,” she said with a laugh. “We had a great time and she’s a very good golfer.”
Sharon Preen, Light’s daughter, described her mother as industrious and creative.
“She always made something out of nothing. If you popped in for dinner, she’d make what you thought was a meal for two enough for six. She always makes you welcome and is always doing something with her hands — knitting, crocheting, making quilts out of bits and pieces,” Preen said.
“She still is very thrifty and very intuitive. You don’t have to say anything. She knows if you’re a tad annoyed or down or happy,” added Preen, noting her parents both still live at home and are fiercely independent. “It’s been hard for them to accept help, but the neighbours keep an eye out for them.”
A wife of nearly 75 years, mother to four, grandmother to seven and great grandmother to nine, Preen said her mother has always been a fierce competitor — whether she's playing cards, lawn bowling or challenging someone to a game.
“She is bright, resourceful, independent, generous and 'queen' of her family. She will (always) have words of wisdom, strong convictions and wry humour with an Irish twinkle in her eye.”
