Cape Town - “Honouring your father and mother and remaining humble will gain you long life.”
These are the pearls of wisdom of Anna “Annie” Johanna Adonis, who at 111 years of age, is possibly the oldest person in the Western Cape after Fredie Blom, 114.
Aunty Annie, as she is fondly called, celebrated the incredible milestone on Sunday with 97 residents and staff of Nerena Place in Bishop Lavis, where she lives.
She can’t hear or see properly anymore, and it’s not uncommon to hear people speaking very loudly in her presence.
According to the nursing staff, the aunty is a tea lover and “big eater”.
Aunty Annie was born in Greyton on 5 August 1907, but lived in Bokmakierie in Athlone for most of her life.
She married her late husband, Edward Adonis, when they were both 21 years old.
The couple have been married for 60 years and never had children.
“It was never in God’s plan for me to have children and I can’t question God’s work,” says Aunty Annie.
She worked in a clothing factory and this was the only job she ever had.
“My grandma told me not to chop and change jobs, so I always stuck to one trade,” she explains.
Aunty Annie moved to Nerena Place in June because her family couldn’t provide frail care for her after she had a stroke in May.
Her roommate Anne Serafin, 67, says Aunty Annie loves to have long conversations at night.
“She is quite a chatterbox. She wakes me up at night to talk, but if she doesn’t want to talk to me she just ignores me,” she chuckles.
Aunty Annie is still able to feed herself, and cut herself a slice of birthday cake which she thoroughly enjoyed.
Admin clerk Debora Moolman, 39, says Aunty Annie is a loving soul.
“To meet someone at this age is grace. Aunty Annie is currently the oldest resident and only suffers of hypertension,” she says.