Gillitts resident, Iona celebrates a century of life

THE sprightly Iona Wood of Gillitts recently celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by her loving and expanding family.

As she sits herself down opposite me, her eyes are alight with life and a keen smile spreads across her face. She runs her hands along the pearls that adorn her neck as she takes a step back into her past.

She returns to Port Elizabeth, the place she was born on 10 January 1919, and quickly skips ahead to her move to the Karoo where she matriculated.

Her passion to help others saw her attend training college in Grahamstown to became a teacher.

“My first teaching post was at Willowvale in the Transkei. In those days it wasn’t easy to get teaching posts. I was actually on holiday on a farm when my father told me there was a vacant post at a primary school,” she said.

Her fiance, Leonard, was called to war.

“We were engaged when he was called to the war up north. I knew he was coming home by plane but, on Christmas Day, we heard the news that his plane crashed and everyone on it died. It was a tragedy and I was in an absolute state,” she said.

“I then found out that he couldn’t take the plane and was instead sent back home by boat. It was such a relief to know he was alive!”

The couple tied the knot soon after and their small family grew by two and they welcomed their children, Rob and Cecily.
No longer a teacher, Iona worked in her husband’s store where she managed a team that sewed fabrics into beautiful garments, attracting customers from far and wide.

“My husband’s family had the mindset that a woman shouldn’t have to work, but I told them otherwise,” grinned Iona.

Iona has six grandchildren and is also a great grandmother to five.

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It’s all about the lifestyle

A few of her fondest memories were made at the shop, most of them included a pet Indian myna.

“My son came home from varsity on his scooter with the rescued bird. The myna was never caged and left to roam and fly; he was with us for years,” she recalled. “It could speak Xhosa and Mxolisi was the first word it said. One day the bird came flying home, sat on my husband’s shoulder and mimicked a laugh of a local resident and then said, ‘Oh God, he’s drunk!’” laughed Iona.

“It also used to sit by the radio and make all kinds of comments as if it would follow the conversation,” she smiled. “One day it decided to fly away and just never came back.”

It was in 1972 that the couple decided to pack up shop and retire to East London.

In her spare time, during what she described as her more athletic years, she was an avid tennis player and also did a tremendous amount of knitting, using the same machine she still has today. “It is knitting that I believe has kept my mind alive,” she said.

On that note, she believes her healthy diet has also contributed to her longevity. Iona eats fresh fruit every day, sneaks in a long walk around her complex, has never smoked and drinks a near insignificant amount of alcohol.

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