by Sara Lovallo 

A CENTENARIAN has revealed how she she shunned mod cons for decades as she celebrated her milestone birthday.

Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Gray spent her 100th birthday with her family at the Chester Park Care Home in Kinning Park yesterday.

Her carers set up a corner of their common room with birthday decorations for the special day.

Her family got together to celebrate the matriarch, joking about her secret for longevity, which has to be biscuits and cake, and the coffee that she immediately demanded upon walking into the room.

Her son, Sam, talked to us about his mother’s life. He described her as “A typical Glasgow housewife.”

He explained how his mother refused many of the technologies that started to fill the homes after the Second World War.

He said: “She’s never had a phone, she’s never had a colour television, no washing machine, no freezer. It was her choice, the number of phones I tried to get put in, but she just used to walk down the road, put four pennies in the box and phone us.

Chester Park Care Home presented Betty with a plaque for her 100th birthday, and both the director, Sunita Poddar, and the manager, Louise Dunlop, joined the small party of people to celebrate.

Betty was born in Springburn and mostly raised by her brother, she later moved to Govan for her wedding in 1940, and has lived in the area ever since.

READ MORE: Glasgow woman Mary Sullivan enjoys 100th birthday celebrations with family

Her husband, Sam, died in 1974, but Betty kept a good health until about 15 years ago, when she started showing signs of dementia.

Betty’s son, Sam, made the decision to move her into the care home, believing it was the best he could do for her, as her condition deteriorated.

He said: “This is the best place for her. I thought about moving her to nearer us, but I felt, ‘cause she was a Glaswegian, she would be better in here, I think it’s been the right decision.

“The staff have been excellent. They’ve just been fantastic.”

According to her carers, Betty is a real character. Everyone at the event described her as a bit of a troublemaker. Her carers and her son agreed with a smile that she can stir up quite a bit of trouble when she’s in the mood.

READ MORE: A tale of two Bettys: Glasgow pals celebrate their 100-year milestone in style

“Betty keeps you on your toes,” Lisa, one of the carers, said.

At the small event, the grandmother was most interested in the cake, putting a smile on everybody’s face with her good mood.

Sam described his mother as a family person and a housewife by choice.

Despite having had various jobs in her life, including working in the kitchens of Marks & Spencer in Argyll Street, she preferred to stay home and take care of her family.

Betty has nine grandchildren, four from Sam and five from her other son, Peter, who was unable to make the birthday celebration.

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