Last week, centenarian Cecilia Goddard Hughes was not sure she was going to live to see her next birthday after a bout of illness. Surrounded by family and friends yesterday, she reflected that the day so far was “not so bad.“
Called Gertude by her family, Hughes, who is now 104 years, was born in 1906 in Versailles on the West Bank Demerara. She was one of the four children of her parents, who were among the first sugarcane cutters from Barbados. That, according to her son Patrick, is where the name Goddard came from. He proudly explained how their history can be traced back to Barbados.
Now in a wheelchair because of a mild stroke she suffered a few years back, Gertrude no longer walks but she does not regret the loss of her mobility.
In her younger years, Gertrude remembers selling shaved ice in a mobile. And while she admits that life is not always bright, she says “you still gah mek it.” For the last three years, according to her relatives, she has lived in Antigua with one of her children.
Patrick Hughes, the second to last child, Ruby Mc Clure and their sibling in Antigua are all that remain of 11 children that Gertrude mothered. Ruby, who is now 77 years old, said she still believed that her mother can walk with the aid of her walker but is afraid because of her weight.
Ruby also said that her mother’s memory is fine, saying that she had a “good memory more than me.” She added that when her mother was saying last week that she was not going to make it, she said she told her “she still batting safe.” Gertrude, however, replied that she did not know about that but stated that she was grateful for life thus far and is looking forward to enjoying her day. The centenarian loves to sing and demonstrated her alto and tenor skills, as she sang a gospel song for this paper. She then went on to recall how she sang in the school choir when she was a child and how her aunt used to teach piano lessons at Canal Number Two.
Her singing talent was inherited from her mother, whom she said “could sing bad bad.” She said that her mother’s name was Thelma King.
Meanwhile, Fiona Bascom who has been taking care of Gertrude for six years, says that Gertrude is a very pleasant woman and joked that she and Gertrude always quarrelled to which Gertrude interrupted saying, “Nah me. I don’t quarrel. They does provoke me, man.” Bascom explained with pride that ‘Neighbour Gertrude,’ as she calls her, was a hearty eater and had to be restricted because of her heart condition. Bascom also told this paper that Gertrude was a pleasure to be around and although she cannot walk she still tries to do things on her own.
Yesterday relatives tried to calculate how many grandchildren Gertrude has. According to Patrick, she has five grandchildren who are over 50 years old. While arriving at a total was difficult, Patrick said his mother has three generations of grandchildren and he noted that each generation started with a male child.
Cecilia Goddard Hughes spends her days at her 2950 North Ruimveldt home and remains a devout Seventh Day Adventist. Her love for singing keeps her going and she always has family around to keep her spirits up and, as she puts it, she “refuses to be fatigued.”
