Violet Campbell (seated, centre) with (clockwise from bottom left) Yvette Robinson, great-granddaughter; Sybil Buchanan, daughter; Idolyn Boyne-Robinson, granddaughter; Pauline Sutherland, adopted daughter; and Wilbe Cunningham, family friend. - Mark Titus

WESTERN BUREAU:

Having lived for a century as of June 9, it may be said that Violet Campbell of Cessnock, Hanover has had a fulfilled life.

Two celebrations were held to commemorate her 100-year milestone.

The first was on May 14 to accommodate Campbell's sister and nephews from England, who were on vacation at the time. The second on the actual birthday, with friends and family gathered in a larger setting where she got commendations from Governor General Sir Patrick Allen and even Queen Elizabeth the second.

Born in Cessnock in 1911, Campbell, affectionately called 'Aunt Vi', raised two children and several grand and great-grandchildren. She also served as a mother figure to others from the community.

immense adoration

Although nowadays she does not see very well, speaks very little and requires assistance to move about, her relatives have expressed immense adoration for her. "She was a loving, caring person, helpful to the community, not only her family," remarked daughter Sybil Buchanan. "She only had two of us, but she reared about 13, her nieces and nephews and other people's children outside. She was like a mother to the community."

Granddaughter Idolyn Boyne-Robinson, recalled how Campbell - her father's mother - took her from her mother at age two. "Believe me, we were well taken care of. School was a must; church was a must," Boyne-Robinson told THE STAR . "My father did not play his role, so she was mother, father and grandmother."

harvests

Campbell worked as a higgler, selling yam at the market. "She bought yam and took it from Hanover to Kingston; tons of yam, truck loads of yam. She bought from people in the community, and if the churches in the area had harvests, she bought from there," recalled Buchanan.

Campbell has also been a very active member of the nearby St Luke's Anglican Mission, which has only some 40 members at present, and has also been a member of the local Mothers' Union for years. In fact, on her birthday the diocese gave her a special commendation for her years of service.

"At church she was a praying soul. She was always praying for the community, and even now, you come here, sometimes you'll hear her say let us have devotion. And she's always singing and praising God," said Buchanan.