By Lesroy W. Williams Observer Reporter
(Phillips Village, St. Kitts) – In an age when some people treat life with little or no respect, Mr. William Davis, who celebrated his 100th birthday on Dec. 2, said that he is thankful to God for his life and urged the young people to take care of their bodies. Family members, friends, students, Parliamentary Representative for Constituency #7, Dr. Timothy Harris and Supervisor of Social Services with responsibility for the elderly, Mrs. Ann Wigley, gathered at the centenarian’s home in Phillips Village to pray and celebrate with him his long life. “I”m not fit anymore to go to the polls but I”m still a member of Labour and I pray for them every day and night,” Mr. Davis said. “Give me my flowers while I am alive; do not spend a lot of money on many roses, just give me one rose and that will do,” he said. Mr. Davis had words of advice for the students from the Molineux Primary School who paid tribute to him by singing the song “I”ll Make a Difference.” “Children, obey your teachers, be nice to your parents, and try to do good and not evil because when you do good you get a blessing. Keep on and ask God to help you all to learn your lesson in school so that you could come out to be good children and good people,” he said. “No one can care your body as you can. You have to care your body and know what to eat,” he said to the children. Mr. Davis attributed his long life to the grace of God and to taking proper care of his body. “God is good all the time. My trust is in him,” he said. “I eat plenty ground provisions. I do not use salt in my food and I don’t eat fry foods,” he added. Dr. Harris, applauded Mr. Davis for his long life and wished him well. “At some point I believe that the people of Phillips and the historians should come back to hear from you about your long life and the recipe for that life, if there is one,” he said. “In these modern times, living to any age seems to be a challenge, imagine reaching 100, which is a big, big number, because it’s long past the Biblical allotment of three scores and ten for those who are strong,” he added. The grandson of Mr. Davis, Dennis “Junie” Jones, who is a police officer in Tortola, BVI, was the family spokesman for the momentous occasion. “I do not call you as often as I should at times but what I can say about my Papa is that he is very alert at this stage but he is very contented. He has lost his sight for some years now but he never allowed that to bother him. He knows that he lived a wonderful life and that he has some wonderful children and grandchildren,” Mr. Jones said. Mr. Davis, who is a Roman Catholic, had nine children, seven of whom are alive. He has numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.”” A small reception followed the ceremony.
