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At 104, Ina Holder eats anything and is on no medication
At 104 years old, Ina Holder, can still recognise a good-looking man when she sees one. She gave this indication when she saw Neil Marks, and he blushed profusely.
Ina Holder
When a full-page photo of the devilishly handsome actor Mahadeo Shivraj appeared in the Stabroek News, he became the photo above her bed head.
But it’s not Shivraj alone who grabs her attention. A delightfully charming woman, she is quick to point out your good side when she sees you – be it your eyes or your nose. At least those are the things she noticed about Shivraj.
What is perhaps more extraordinary about the beautiful Aunt Ina is her steadfast independence.
She never wanted to get married simply because getting married was something that she should do. And she wasn’t interested in marriage for the so-called security that is promised with having a husband.
“I was working for my own money,” she answers when her helper, Jennifer Benn, shouts in her ears the question of why she never got married. Strapped with her independent mind and her firm principles, she worked until she was 100-years-old.
Her last job was as a librarian with the Anglican Diocese.
On Sunday, her 104th birthday, her closest family and friends, together with members of the church, gathered at the Lamaha Gardens home where she now lives, for a party.
“It wasn’t a lot of people. I don’t like a lot of people chatting about me,” Ina relates, betraying her sense of humility.
Besides the usual complications to persons of her age, such as her failing bones and hearing impairment, Aunt Ina has no medical complications and uses no medicines.
In addition, she has no clear dietary restrictions, so she eats practically anything. And get this – Aunt Ina reads the newspapers every day, and without her glasses at that!
These days, she spends her time quietly at the home of Dr. Claudette Harry, a family friend. Until last November, she lived with Noel Holder, her nephew, and his wife, Sheila Holder. When Sheila died, Noel decided to leave her with Dr Harry.
Dr Harry also keeps her unmarried 94-year-old aunt Gertrude Harry.
To keep the home going, they have employed Jennifer Benn, who Ina has renamed “Fatty.”
Benn recalls that last November, Ina was bed-ridden. But now, she is back on her feet again, so to speak. She doesn’t need anyone to feed her and tries to at least get from her bed to her window on her own.
She doesn’t like “Fatty” leaving too late for home, so if she is taking a while to eat, she would tell “Fatty” to head on home and she will make her way to her room by herself.
Always with a delightful sense of humour, she would give “Fatty” a stern warming when she leaves the home: “”Don’t be flirting with the boys on your way home.”
Aunt Ina’s goal is to walk again, and “Fatty” is sure she would be able to do it.
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