Mabel celebrates her 100th birthday twice at The Depperhaugh Nursing Home
Four generations of a family gathered to celebrate the 100th birthday of Florence Woods at The Depperhaugh Nursing Home, in Hoxne, near Eye.
Known to everyone as Mabel, she celebrated her big day on Tuesday, December 17, two days after the big family get-together.
Mrs Woods, who has lived in the Kingsley Healthcare home for two and a half years, was born near Boston, in Lincolnshire and grew up with her sister Margaret and younger brother Arthur who still lives in the area.
It was a fateful trip to Suffolk, chaperoning her sister who was on her way to meet her boyfriend, which brought her into contact with her future husband, coal merchant and accomplished melodeon player Oscar Woods.
After their marriage, the couple settled in Sternfield, near Saxmundham and raised two sons, Nicholas and Simon, who have both sadly passed away, and their daughter Gail, aged 70, who lives in Norwich.
Her daughter, who praised the kind and caring staff at The Depperhaugh, said: “My mother has had a passion for sewing all her life and even made her own wedding gown and the bridesmaid dresses.
“She worked in the Ladies Gown Shop in Aldeburgh, doing alterations and serving customers. She had breast cancer at the age of 69, but after she had beaten it, went back to work there into her 70s.
“She always liked to dress nicely so working in a gown shop really suited her.”
She was renowned for her knitted nativity scenes and used to run a fund-raising stall at the Sternfield Church summer and Christmas fairs, selling sewn and knitted items such as pin cushions and Christmas stockings.
“My mother worked hard all her life and loved being part of the community,” she said.
Mrs Woods’ husband, a musician who played in Suffolk folk clubs and festivals and recorded an LP, passed away in 1984; she has four grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Her daughter said: “My mother still likes to get up every day and enjoys the entertainment in the home. She broke her leg last year but her doctor was amazed at her quick recovery.”
Caption: second pic is with her daughter on a Broads trip organised by the care home.
