Centenarian, family celebrate milestone 

It was a joyous day for Doreen Claudine Irene Cummins, the island’s newest centenarian, on Wednesday, surrounded by close relatives and friends at her home in Ealing Park, Christ Church.

Lively and full of personality, Cummins warmly welcomed President Jeffrey Bostic, joking that while a governor general had once visited her mother in the same house, she was especially grateful for this visit.

“Thank God the best president get to sit down with me,” she said with a laugh.

Despite her age, Cummins insisted she remains fully aware of what is happening around her.

“I was born in 1926, and you know that I know everything,” she declared.

President Bostic congratulated her on reaching the milestone, describing it as a remarkable achievement.

“This is a significant achievement. It seems as though now we are having more centenarians than we are having batsmen making hundreds for us. This is really wonderful,” he said.

Reflecting on her early life, Cummins shared that she began working at just 13 years old after attending St Thomas Girls’ School.

“I keep a rum shop for 40 years,” she recalled. “I was born in Spring Farm, St Thomas. I grew up in Spring Farm, St Thomas. In my teenage years I moved to St Michael and worked as a shop assistant for $7 a week, then I elevated till I kept my own business.”

Some of Doreen Claudine Irene Cummins’ family joining in on the celebration as she speaks with her MP Wilfred Abrahams. (SB)

When asked what advice she would give young people, given how society has changed over the decades, she noted that respect was key in her time.

“Listen to me, in my day it was the same thing. All that is different, we had respect for old people. If you saw an old person you would run and hide. But the young people ain’t care,” she said.

Cummins, who raised five children, credited her longevity to simple pleasures.

When asked her secret to a long life, she quipped it was “breadfruit coucou”, along with white rum.

And when asked if she still enjoys it, her answer was a frank and direct one.

“Of course I do… every day whenever I eat my food. That is what is keeping me good.”