Where were you in 1916?
Most were not born yet. However, 1916 is the year that Sandton resident Aileen Owen took her first breath. This year is her centenary celebration of life and she will commemorate her 100 eventful years on 19 April at Rosehaven Retirement Village where she is being cared for.
The life of Owen is one that is filled with an array of numbers. Besides her 10 decades on earth, she has lived through two world wars, was married for 49 years, has two children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Owen explained that she has a past filled with caring for people. From 1940, she worked as a nurse at military hospitals and worked at Grey Hospital in Pietermaritzburg training nurses and midwives. After her marriage, she moved to Cape Town and was very active in St Thomas Anglican Church until her retirement.
Owen has been living at Rosehaven Retirement Village since 2002. She enjoyed gardening and used to recondition cards for sale to raise funds for the home. She explained that she is no longer able to be too active as her eyesight is failing.
Of all the beautiful and eventful experiences in her life, the ones that stand out the most are those of triumph. Owen’s daughter explained that her mother survived breast cancer 20 years ago and in the past four years, has fractured both her hips and pelvis.
Owen still enjoys her weekly outings to Hodges Coffee Shop in Craighall where she orders a coke float without fail and has been going to the same hairdresser for decades.
When asked what her secret to longevity is, she said, “Good genes, good brandy and good friends.” She then added that the secret to a successful life is first and foremost God, friends and family.
One of the highlights of Owen’s life, as described by her granddaughter, was the day she went on the Gautrain, at the age of 97, on 29 July 2012.
When a Sandton Chronicle journalist asked Owen to smile for a photograph, she did not simply show her teeth and say ‘cheese’. She laughed with lively, blue eyes and repeatedly exclaimed, “Thank you!”
Also read 102 and still going strong
