A 100th birthday is a celebration many of us don’t live long enough to experience.
Mooi Hawens’ Eileen Heather Hill, who is as fit as a fiddle, celebrated her miraculous day on Monday, 6 November in the company of her friends and enormous family she is so fortunate to have.
Living in South Africa her whole life, Eileen’s gratitude for the life she lived was more than evident.
“I grew up in Kroonstad and obtained my education through the Kroonstad Convent, where I drove the poor sisters mad,” she said. “When my brother, Clive was accepted to study at a medical school in Cape Town, my father managed to get a transfer and we moved there. He wanted our family to be together,” she said.
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Looking back on her upbringing, Eileen explained it as strict, plain and lovely.
“I had good parents and a happy home life,” she said. “They were strict, but always made us feel loved.”
One of Eileen’s significant memories includes the adoption of her cousin, Dorothy.
“When my aunt died, my uncle was battling with the children,” she said. “My parents agreed to adopt my cousin Dorothy. Throughout our upbringing we were treated as sisters. When I introduced her, it was as my sister. When I got a new bicycle or dress, so did she. My parents made it clear she was to be my sister. I loved her as one.”
At age 17, Eileen met the love of her life, Jack.
“We met when I still lived in Kroonstad,” she said. “After I moved to Cape Town we kept in touch, and he would come to the Cape to visit me. My father never allowed me to go to Kroonstad to visit him. But when he realised that I wasn’t his little baby anymore and that what Jack and I had was serious, he loosened the reigns and shortly after, we were married and I moved back to Kroonstad.”
Having lived through the ages, Eileen admits that the quality of people has notably deteriorated with time.
“Everyone used to be fair and good to one another before. I see very little of that nowadays,” she said.
When fresh out of school Eileen worked as a receptionist, but after she was wed, she spent her days riding her bicycle and more importantly playing bridge.
“Cycling kept me fit and healthy, playing bridge kept me happy,” she said. “Heavens, I loved playing bridge, and I was good at it too.” This focus on keeping fit and healthy as well as happy is Eileen’s secret to her long and happy life.
Read also: The oldest living woman’s secret to a long life
She has four children, Heather, Joan, Jennifer and Clive, nine grandchildren – which includes a set of quadruplets – and she boasts a further five great-grandchildren, all of whom she holds close to her heart.
“Looking back on my life and all the years that have past, a lot of water has passed under the bridge,” she said.
Grateful for the life she has both been blessed with and made for herself, Mooi Hawens’ staff along with all her family and friends wish Eileen many more years of contentment and bliss. She lives as a legacy and a role model to all who come into contact with her.
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