AMHERST COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – An Amherst County woman is celebrating a huge milestone; Mildred Rose turned 105 years old Monday.
At 105 years old, Mildred Rose says she feels every year, but that hasn’t dimmed her joy. On Monday, her family gathered to celebrate the life of a woman who’s seen and done it all.
“Old… I feel old, I can tell you that. But I’m very happy to be with my family, with my only living brother,” said Mildred.
Born in 1920, Mildred grew up in Amherst County, farming with her brothers, a childhood filled with hard work and self-sustaining values.
“I grew up on a farm. I can tell you that it was all hard work, but we made it,” said Mildred.
That hard work shaped her life from canning applesauce with her family to passing down recipes to her grandchildren. At 19 Mildred was married, and by 20 she had her first child. After spending 5-6 more years in Amherst County, Mildred and her late husband, Oscar, moved to Camden, New Jersey, for four decades. They returned to Amherst in the 1980s, settling into a home on East Monitor — a lifelong dream they achieved together. On Monday, that same home was filled with love, laughter, and the smells of Mildred’s favorite foods.
“I feel very fortunate that I got to spend so much time with her. I can tap in on things about our family history and get perspective on things. It’s a unique scenario that our family has,” said Wanda Rose, Mildred’s granddaughter.
“She worked very hard to give us the life that — not just for my mom but for my cousins as well. And it wasn’t easy, but she definitely paved the way for a lot of us,” said Chase Smith, Mildred’s great-granddaughter.
For the family, Mildred isn’t just a matriarch, she’s an inspiration.
“She is the Harriet Tubman of the family. She brought people from the South to the North and got everyone started,” said Cynthia Carter, Mildred’s niece.
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