Walking into the Church of our Lady on Saturday afternoon, it would have been easy to miss Marjorie Miller as she made her way around greeting guests for her birthday party.
Sure, she might have needed a bit of help with a walker, but most of the time she was easily making her way around the hall, saying hello to family members and just enjoying the festivities.
Which, when you’ve just turned 101 years old, is quite the feat indeed.
Close to 80 family members, friends and well-wishers participated in the party, a celebration of a long life filled with plenty of memories.
“I’m very fortunate, it’s so nice to have good health and be able to get around,” Miller said as partygoers stopped by to offer greetings. “I’m a little slower but I can still get around and do a lot of things, so that’s really nice.”
Miller was born in 1921 in Shaunavon, not long after the First World War had begun to fade into the past and the Roaring 20s were about to take hold. She grew up in Climax and lived in Saskatchewan most of her life, moving to Moose Jaw from their farm near Drinkwater 28 years ago.
She met her husband, Buster Miller, during the Second World War and they ended up with a large family that grew up on the farm -- nine kids in total, seven boys and two girls.
All her surviving children were in town for the party, and were joined by a large number of their extended family, which includes 20 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
And to say the world is a little bit different for the youngest members of the family compared to when Marjorie was a youngster would be a bit of an understatement.
“A lot has changed that’s for sure. From the horse and buggy to cars, to the internet and Ipads and things like that… I don’t use any of that though I have a hard enough time with the television,” Miller said with a laugh.
That’s not to say she doesn’t keep busy in her home in Victoria Towers and around town. Fun stuff like reading and knitting and enjoying sports on television, and as a season ticket holder with the Moose Jaw Warriors, plenty of trips to the rink to watch the team during the winter months.
Miller points to staying active as a major factor in staying as spry as she is into her second century, and naturally has a few tips for living a long and full life.
“Hard work and a loving family and good health… and Vic’s Vapour Rub, If anything is ailing you, just go with the Vics,” Miller said.
The festivities themselves -- which included a dinner and social -- would have taken place last year, but the ongoing pandemic pushed things back a year.
“They’ve worked hard to put this together and it’s so nice to see everyone all together at once,” Miller said.
And Miller doesn’t plan to have her birthday shindig be the last event of its kind she attends, either.
“I’m going to stay busy as long as I can stay busy,” she said. “It helps keep me young!”
