Glenfinnan helps celebrate Kitty’s 100th birthday
For more than 30 years, Kitty Macdonald was a wellknown face in Glenfinnan and that affection was much in evidence recently when her friends in the hamlet hosted a special 100th birthday celebration in a local hotel.
Now a resident of the Erskine veterans home, she was born Catherine Cameron Louise MacLean in Scotstoun on June 16, 1918, as the Great War was nearing its end.
Since she was a baby, Catherine was known as Kitty after one of her six brothers said Catherine was too much of a mouthful so he would call his wee sister Kitty.
In 1946 Kitty married Archie Macdonald who was serving in the British Army’s 6th Airborne Division.
Kitty and Archie went on to have three children
– Cameron, Catherine and
Gillian.
In working life Kitty was post mistress at Clydebank Post Office for 26 years, including during the Second World War, and was very proud to pass the Civil Service exam when she was 42 years old.
It was when Kitty retired, at the age of 62, that she moved to the hamlet of Glenfinnan, where she lived very happily at home until two years ago when, then aged 98, she moved into Erskine Home in Bishopton.
When asked about becoming a centenarian, Kitty commented: ‘You can’t stop life from growing. Turning 100 is very special if God allows you to get there.’
And while Kitty celebrated with family at Erskine Home, at the same time, more than 100 miles away in Glenfinnan, her friends in the Highlands marked the special occasion with their own party in the Glenfinnan House Hotel.
Kitty’s daughter Gillian Campbell added: ‘As we enjoyed a family party at the weekend, her many friends in Glenfinnan also held a party to celebrate Kitty’s birthday.
‘It was lovely for us all to get together as a family to celebrate. Mum recited a number of poems at her party, including a poem by Christopher Robin. Erskine has been a terrific place for mum and also for us as a family.’
As well as three children, Kitty has eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.