Centenarian May ready to celebrate turning ‘25’

Dundee great-great-grandmother is 100 today – but was born on leap day 1920

She is the Dundee great-greatgrandmother who remains forever young as she celebrates her 100th birthday.

May Christie is marking the milestone today with a party with family and friends at Harestane care home, including a niece who has travelled from Australia.

But her cake will have just 25 candles because Mrs Christie, who has children Peter, 77, Angus, 74, Carole, 72, Rosilynn, 67, eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and three greatgreat-grandchildren, was born on a leap day in 1920.

She has been getting her hair done for the occasion and said she will also have a glass of gin today to toast “turning 25”.

“I think I’m closer to 25 than 100 because I definitely feel younger every day,” she said.

“My secret to a long life has been throwing myself into everything, because I’ve always faced up to life’s challenges.”

Born in Dundee in 1920, Mrs Christie, who had three sisters and six brothers, was educated at Tay Street School and Logie. She left school at 14 and started work on the production line at the Keiller factory, which was at one time the largest sweets firm in Britain.

“We used to eat them while we were packing because you couldn’t take them out,” she said.

“Sometimes they did a spot check on the way out and some of the workers would have to quickly empty their pockets.

“You would see a trail of sweets leading all the way up to the foreman!”

She moved on to Valentines card factory in her later teens where she would hand-paint greeting cards.

Mrs Christie said it was the best period of her working life and she made friends there that lasted a lifetime.

This was around the time that she went dancing and met her late husband Peter, who was a shipwright at Caledon Shipyard in Dundee.

“We eventually got married in Bonnethill Church in Dundee in 1943 and he died aged 83 in 2007 before we could celebrate our 65th wedding anniversary.”

After bringing up her family, Mrs Christie went back to work and was a sales assistant with McGill’s and DM Brown before moving into the care sector at Menzieshill House.

Mrs Christie, who still enjoys embroidery and crocheting, is known for her sense of humour and used to go to the bingo twice a week.

A former member of the Logie Club and regular attendee at Lochee Parish Church, Mrs Christie lived independently up to the age of 99 before breaking her leg.

She is now resident at Harestane, which she described as a “home from home”, and she is regularly visited by her family who have described her as “one in a million”.

Son Peter said: “Mum has always put other people first.”

Daughter Rosilynn said “She brightens up everyone’s day.”

Pictures: Mhairi Edwards. May Christie blows out candles on a birthday cake; May with her children, from left, Rosilynn Wilson, Peter Christie, Angus Christie and Carole Urban, top right; and an earlier image of the family with May’s late husband, Peter.

May and late husband Peter were married in 1943.