Packing Life Into Her Years (Prestwick Village)
September 24, 2020 (Laurinburg, NC) ─ Jewel Roth, a resident at Prestwick Village, a DePaul Senior Living Community in Laurinburg, recently celebrated her 100th birthday with the help of friends and family!
Jewel’s advice for longevity is to trust in God’s love.
“For a century, God has sustained me through the ebb and flow of life,” said Jewel. “I never thought about living to be 100 years old. I just trusted the precious care of Jesus for each day of my life. There is nothing that I would change about the delightful life God has given to me.”
A native of Stillmore, Georgia, Jewel was born to a large family of biological and half-siblings. Her family lived on a farm where her father tended to many animals, beehives and harvested varied produce, tobacco and cotton.
Jewel moved to Savannah at the age of 19 where she met her first husband Joe Junior. The two were married in 1941 and just six months later, Joe was shipped off to the Pacific arena. Jewel meanwhile gave birth to their son little Joe. It would be three more years before she learned of his death.
During World War II, Jewel found work at the Hunter Army base as a secretary for soldiers repairing B29 Bombers. After the war, she found work at the Veteran’s Office in Savannah helping veterans apply for disability. She met her second husband, Edwin Roth, at the Highway 80 Club. The two were married in 1948.
Ed’s company soon transferred them to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they welcomed a daughter. In 1951, the family moved to Newport News, Virginia. When their daughter went to college, Jewel honed her typing skills to land a job as a United States civil service employee from 1966 to 1982, working her way up to become the receptionist for five surgeons in the McDonald Army Hospital at Fort Eustis, Virginia.
Ed and Judy spent many years reeling in tuna, flounder, shark and other saltwater fish on their Ridell boat, the Judy I. After retirement, the couple purchased a home in Richmond Hill, Georgia on the Ogeechee River. Ed passed away in 2004 after 56 years of marriage.
Some of the highlights for Jewel over the past century have been the opportunity to travel to France for a family reunion and the opportunity to gather to celebrate her 90th birthday surrounded by family. She moved to Prestwick Village in March 2017.
“For over three years, the considerate employees at Prestwick Village have become my dear friends,” she said. “They are respectful and knowledgeable as they care for me.”
To read Jewel’s full memoir in her own words, be sure to check out her reflections on 100 years in this Centenarian Guest Essay on the DePaul blog.
For more information about Prestwick Village, please contact Administrator Deanna Smith at (910) 276-5950 at dsmith4@depaul.org or visit us on Facebook.