HARCOURT, N.L. — It was an unforgettable way to celebrate a 100th birthday.
Louise Pelley of Harcourt marked her special day with a wedding at the Clarenville Retirement Home.
The woman who is more commonly known as “Aunt Louie” told The Packet that while the wedding was all “make believe” she appreciates what the staff at Clarenville Retirement Centre and her friends and family did to make her feel special for her Feb. 1 birthday.
She says the ceremony on Jan. 31 went very well. She even got a kiss from her “groom” Austin Strong.
“He didn’t mind one bit and neither did I,” she laughed.
But the pretend wedding also made her think of her one true love, her husband Llewellyn Pelley who passed away in 1995.
“I had one man, I loved him and he loved me and that’s all I want … He was good.”
So while the mock wedding was a great way to celebrate her 100th birthday, Mrs. Pelley says Mr. Pelley was the only one for her.
“I remember every step he made,” she says.
Pelley was surrounded by her friends and family on Saturday, Feb. 1, for an open house and supper in Harcourt.
After all, 100 well-lived years deserves to be celebrated.
Until she moved to the Retirement Centre in Clarenville, Mrs. Pelley lived in Harcourt, Trinity Bay, a small community just a few kilometres away.
She was a businesswoman and was very involved with the Women’s Institute and the church in the community. She was Superintendent of the Sunday School for many years and was church organist for 87 years, since the very first time she played the organ in the church on
on Easter Sunday in 1932.
“I was only 12 years old when I started playing in church,” she remembers.
She says her years of community involvement and her work ethic are the reason for her longevity.
“I worked hard. I had two retail stores … and loved it.”
She has a sharp mind, and good humour.
As she says herself, even now she still has her “God-given sense!”
Mrs. Pelley lived in her own home in Harcourt, in fact, until 2017 when she moved to the Retirement Centre.
There she continues to keep active, playing the organ on Sundays and enjoying conversations with residents and friends who drop by to visit.
Her time at the Retirement Centre is great, she says.
“Everybody are angels to me, can’t get any better. They’re wonderful people.”
“They went through all kinds of expense just for me,” she says. “I said, ‘Why did you do it?’ They said, ‘Because we like you!’”
Twitter: @jejparsons
