It’s a happy birthday for woman, 90, who was first New Year’s baby in 1927
Born 90 years ago on New Year’s Day, Mary Joyce Kerr is one active senior.
She’s learning to play the piano, is an accomplished knitter and recently had her driver’s licence renewed.
The first New Year’s baby to be born in Calgary back in 1927, Kerr was delivered in her parents’ home in Bankview. Now at the age of 90, Kerr’s family threw her a special birthday celebration at the Lougheed House in downtown Calgary.
“I love being a New Year’s baby,” Kerr said. “It was quite a big thing back then. It always came up wherever I went that I was the first New Year’s baby — it was my one day of fame.”
Sharp and active as ever, it seems not much has changed for the 90-year-old (she credits Norwegian cod liver oil as the secret to her good health).
Living in the same house in the community of Mount Pleasant since she was married almost 65 years ago, Kerr said home hasn’t quite been the same since her husband Bob, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, was moved to a longterm care facility.
“I miss him terribly. But I’m still in the house trying to keep it going for him,” she said. “I love this house — it’s home to me, and I can relax here.”
And not many can deny the cosiness of Kerr’s home: a vintage gas stove, turquoise kitchen cabinets and little doorbells her husband installed that buzzed downstairs to their children they raised many years ago.
A teletypist in her career years, Kerr attended Crescent Heights high school and has travelled to places like Russia, Alaska and Hawaii with Bob.
Kerr said she is very close to her family, and with three children, seven grandkids and 12 great-grandchildren, it’s no surprise to see her home stocked full of framed photos of smiling faces (and, of course, many a child sporting Kerr’s hand knitted sweaters).
While every New Year’s is a little more special for Kerr, she said this year was truly memorable, as she celebrated with her husband, her cousin — who turns 99 in January — and 40 other family members at her Lougheed House birthday extravaganza.
“Like my husband always said, I try to live the straight and narrow path,” Kerr said. “Bob was always a real gentleman. It’s always fun to go out on New Year’s and have everyone celebrate your birthday.”