A GOOD spell of dancing and a dash of baking - the ingredients for a long life according to 104-year-old Mary Parkinson.
The great-grandmother toasted her 104th birthday surrounded by family and friends yesterday at Lindisfarne Care Home in Newton Hall, County Durham.
Born in Middleton in Hartlepool, mother-of-two Mary went into service when she left school and worked as a companion for a wealthy family before she met her husband-to-be in 1928.
Mary met husband John, known as Jack to family and friends, at a dance at Borough Hall in Hartlepool. The pair courted for two years before marrying in 1930 and moving to Pity Me in County Durham.
Mary, who has four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, raised her two sons John, who was born in 1933, and Bill, born in 1944. Son Bill, 69, said: “She is a very caring person, and she was always trying to help people with any problems when she was younger. She would always be there to help people out.”
Mary, who lost her husband in 1983, has always been a keen dancer and baker and loves being active.
Bill added: “I think she would say the secret to a long life was hard work. She was a hard worker and she didn’t smoke. She was very active, working and dancing. She was still doing her own housework until she was 102 or 103,” he said.
Mary lived independently in her bungalow in Newton Hall until just before her 103rd birthday, when she had a mini stroke and had to move into the care home.
When she was younger, she loved going to Blackpool with her family and loves visits from her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. “She loves spending time with her family and is very family-orientated,” added Bill.
Carol Parsons, care assistant at Lindisfarne Care Home, said: “She was a very independent lady before she came to us just over a year ago.
“She used to always bake at home and she loves a good laugh. If some of the carers are having a daft carry-on, she enjoys that. She was still baking at home until she was over 100.”
Mary enjoyed a glass of bubbly and a tea party with her family and friends at the home yesterday.
