Local woman marks 100th year
It’s not often one gets to celebrate 100 years of life, and though the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into her celebrations, Jerri Brannon was excited yesterday for a socially distanced celebration being held in her honor.
“My daughter’s gone to town to get the last fixings, and she’s going to move all the chairs we have to the front yard so we won’t break any rules,” Brannon said yesterday morning. “This mess that our world is in has thrown a wrench in my celebrations, but we’re going to make it through it.”
Today is Brannon’s 100th birthday, and she said she feels blessed to be able to celebrate such a long life.
“People don’t usually live that long, but I have been so blessed,” she said.
Friends and family helped to organize a drive-by birthday party for Brannon that took place Monday afternoon. She said she was looking forward to the party, both because she’d get to see her friends and because she would be surrounded by the beauty on her property on the outskirts of El Dorado.
“I have a beautiful patio that’s just running over with every kind of plant you can think of, and my yard is beautiful,” she said. “The azaleas have bloomed and they outdid themselves; they are so pretty this year.”
Brannon formerly taught at Hugh Goodwin in El Dorado. Several of her former colleagues attended yesterday’s celebration.
Brannon said she still lives in her home and takes care of herself, albeit with some help from the neighbors and the postal worker that services her neighborhood. When she’s feeling down, she said she always turns to Philippians 4. The chapter encourages believers not to succumb to anxiety but instead turn to God.
“When I get to feeling sorry for myself, I just read the entire verse and thank God for everything He’s done for me,” she said.
While she is still living her best life, she does have plans for the afterlife too — she said she plans to tell St. Peter to bring her back as a yellow butterfly.
“If you see a yellow butterfly after I’m gone, you’ll know that’s me,” she said.