Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Birthday bash for centenarian great-great gran Jenny
IAN BUNTING
A beloved member of the Monklands community was showered with well deserved love and affection as she celebrated her 100th birthday.
Jennifer Divens Faulkner marked her magical milestone with a “perfect party” at Deanston care home in Coatbridge, where she now stays, with her immensely proud family and friends.
David Lloyd George was Prime Minister and Woodrow Wilson in the White House when great-great-grandmother Jennifer – known as Jenny – and her twin brother Joe were born on September 9, 1919.
Tragically, Jenny’s mum Jane died just two months later; Jenny was then adopted by Jane’s aunt Annie and her husband Duncan McKenzie and raised above Owen’s Bar in Coatdyke, while her brother Joe – who passed away a few years ago – went to live with his “maternal grandmother and maiden aunt”.
Jenny attended Coatdyke School before her creative flair saw her secure an apprenticeship with a local tailor.
A family spokesperson said: “Jenny loved to work on items and was always ready to make alterations for friends and family; she later went on to make her daughter’s clothes and kilts.
“During the Second World War she went to work in Martin and Blacks, which she really enjoyed.
“Jenny was also in home help for a spell then worked in a tobacconist and sweet shop on Gartsherrie Road before moving a few doors up to the chippy in 1960, where she stayed until she retired.
“She is well known within the community and people often speak about her; she loved to sing and often treated her family and friends to a tune.
“Jenny has touched many lives during her 100 years.”
When she was old enough, selfless and kind-hearted Jenny helped to take care of her dad Joseph in their Gartsherrie home.
Romance was in the air for centenarian Jenny in 1940 when she met the “love of her life”, soldier James Hannah, with the couple getting married two years later.
The happy couple welcomed first daughter Annie into the world in December 1944 and their second daughter Margaret was born two years later; James sadly passed away in 1979.
Jenny still kept herself busy in her advancing years, with the family spokesperson adding: “She visited America every few years and went on holiday with her daughters regularly until her great-aunt Annie passed away in 2010.
“Jenny was always on the go and loved getting out and about with her family.
“She moved to Deanston care home in 2015 due to her failing health and she is very well loved and looked after by the caring staff.
“We are all so very proud of Jenny and her reaching her 100th birthday; she is a remarkable lady and the family were delighted to share the special occasion with her.”