Mary Bradshaw – Age 107 With PM Douglas
Photo By Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
October 09, 2008 (CUOPM)
Residents of St. Paul’s joined family members and Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas in congratulating its most senior villager, Ms. Mary Bradshaw who celebrated her 107th birthday on Wednesday.
Noting that Ms. Bradshaw, also known as May May, is the oldest and the most senior person in St. Paul’s, Prime Minister Douglas congratulated her for also being the second most senior person in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“This is a blessing from God,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who is not only the Parliamentary Representative, but also a cousin of the centenarian.
“I join all others in giving God thanks for a long, very productive and fruitful life,” said Dr. Douglas, who also expressed thanks to her caretakers – family members and officers of the Home Care Unit of the Ministry of Social and Community Development, who care for her on a daily basis.
“We are proud of you and to a large extent I believe your long life, apart from the blessings of God, has been as a result of the very strong support policies and programmes of the government of the day and governments of past,” said Dr. Douglas.
He said his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Administration will continue to ensure that “our elderly people, our citizens, are no longer tucked away in the back rooms of their homes, but we are prepared as part of our policy as a government, to bring to the attention of our citizens, all of our senior citizens who have lived a long life, so that they can be models as to how people can live in a challenging world.”
“You can be assured that we will continue to assist you and all of our senior citizens through the visits of our home care officers, who ensure that they are properly looked after and that their conditions are conducive to continued good living,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who presented a food basket to mark the occasion.
Born on October 8th 1901 at Rawlins Ground, Miss Bradshaw’s mother died when she was an infant. She never married and has no children, but used her home as a nursery for hundreds of children for decades.
She has good sight and hearing, has a very strong voice and jovial.
Miss Bradshaw is a first cousin of National Hero and Father of Independence, the Right Excellent Sir Robert L. Bradshaw.