100 years old today

Press, 15 August 1984, Page 9

100 years old today

Mrs Clara Beale will celebrate her hundredth birthday with close family at her daughter’s home in Christchurch today. Festivities for the spry centenarian were held yesterday at Nurse Maude Memorial Hospital in Papanul, where she has lived for the last four years. ,

English-born, Mrs Beale came to New Zealand with her family when she was six months old. For the next 70 years she lived in Otago, initially in Dunedin and

more latterly in Mosglel. She moved to her own home in Christchurch 30 years ago. She married when 21 and had five children. Her husband died in 1934. One son was killed in World War H. The remaining members of the family maintain dose contact. Mrs Beale’s two daughters live in Christchurch, one son lives in Gore, and the other in Brisbane. Only the latter was not able to attend the celebrations. Mrs Beale’s descendants

form an impressive list: 19 grandchildren, 13 greatgrandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren. Mrs Beale’s longevity is attributed, by her friends and family, to her hard work, her healthy lifestyle, and her genuine interest in other people. As well as bringing up a family and keenly tending her garden, Mrs Beale was, until very recently, an active member of the Red Cross, the Ladies’ Guild, and her church, St Giles’, Papanul.