Bonnie Stevenson

The Independent

After 100 years of enjoying life, Doris Gibson is still ready to celebrate life.

Doris, a resident at Albany Retirement Village, celebrated her centennial birthday on Aug. 1 with a big afternoon party in the facility’s dining room attended by a happy crowd of friends and family.

Doris and her husband, Fred, went to school together growing up in Gananoque, Ontario. She trained as a nurse at Kingston General Hospital in 1935 and when she returned home, she and Fred started going together in earnest and Doris pursued her nursing career at Kingston General Hospital. When the couple married, they had two children. Through the years, Fred’s job with the TD Bank took the family to Alliston, Barrie, where Doris worked with the Victorian Order of Nurses, and Kirkland Lake, finally ending up in Petrolia. The Gibsons were members of St. Paul’s United Church and Doris was an active member of the U.C.W.

Fred passed away twenty years ago, but Doris has remained in the community. Her daughter, Doris, and son-in-law are nearby, although their two boys now reside in British Columbia. Both were in attendance to celebrate with their grandmother. Her son, Rick, and grandson, Cameron, who live in Uxbridge, were also slated to attend the event. In total, Doris has welcomed the arrival of four grandsons and two great grandchildren.

When asked what her secret to long life is, she simply smiled and shrugged. But when she spoke of her life, her eyes twinkled and it was obvious that happiness figured prominently in whatever secret recipe she adhered to.