by

Jessica Kok
Community Liaison

Bessie Sawyer, Home Care participant, recently turned 103. The milestone birthday warranted a full weekend of celebration with extended family from all over—both in town and out of state—coming together to celebrate. Miss Bessie’s special day, which featured a cake brought in all the way from Indianapolis, understandably, left her feeling exhausted. However, she was kind enough to let me pay her a visit the next day.

I had prepared so many questions that I wanted to ask Ms. Sawyer. Did they put 103 candles on her cake? How does it feel to be 103? And most importantly, how can I have such longevity? When I arrived, I was so in awe of her stories and history that I forgot to ask most of my questions.  Her son and longtime caregiver, Clarence Sawyer, 76, was on hand to help tell her story. Born in Raleigh, Ms. Bessie raised two children and has been living in the same house in Winston-Salem since the early 1970s.  According to Mr. Sawyer, his mother has always found great meaning in family and great purpose in looking after them.  He also indicated the importance of old and new friends alike in her life. “She is a tremendous person,” he said. “I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like her. She’s just that special kind of person who never meets a stranger.” I definitely felt her welcoming and loving spirit during my visit.

Ms. Bessie is one of Senior Services’ oldest Home Care participants, and we are honored to be a partner in providing care that helps her remain in her home, living as independently as possible. Mr. Sawyer tells me that this is very important to her and all the people who love her. “I never thought that someone in our family would live to be this age. She’s been healthy, and we’ve been blessed.”

Luckily, I did manage to remember to ask my most important question: What is the secret to living such a long life? She answered simply and without hesitation, “Just keep on living.”