Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘106 far too long to be alive’
One of Kent’s oldest residents has died just hours after her 106th birthday.
Beloved great-grandmother Julia Carr, from Stelling Minnis near Canterbury, marked the momentous milestone last Wednesday.
But she died in the early hours of the following day, at Abbey
Lodge residential care home in Hythe.
At 106, Julia lived through two world wars and 20 different prime ministers.
She leaves behind two daughters, Pam and Margaret; four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Pam said: “She lived a full and happy life, but she felt that 106 was far too long to be alive.
“She died after only a short illness, for which her family are thankful for.”
Julia celebrated her 106th birthday last week with her daughters, son-in-law Johnathan, and granddaughter Carmen Louise.
Abbey Lodge decorated her room with balloons, flowers and cards sent from her descendants in America, and celebrated the day with a “beautiful” cake.
Julia was born in the throes of the First World War, to parents who owned a huge farm near
Castle Howard in north Yorkshire.
Speaking to the Gazette on her 105th birthday last year, she attributed her long life to organic food, an outdoorsy youth, and her parents’ values.
“My parents were very, very sensible and brought us up to be well-behaved,” she explained.
“The reason I’ve lived a long time is I had sensible parents and a very healthy life, you see, on the farm.
“Of course now you pay extra for organic food. But back then, all our food was organic.
“And we had the beautiful air - it was all very, very healthy.”
Julia worked as a teacher in Scotland before meeting her husband William Carr - a royal engineer in the Second World War.
Sadly, he died 37 years ago. Following a period of ill health, Julia moved to Abbey Lodge in Hythe in September.