Sylvia Ferguson celebrates her 105th birthday March 20, 2021.
Image Credit: Sylvia Ferguson
March 20, 2021 - 8:51 AM
It's the elephant in the room, a question that many people are bound to ask: What's the secret to Sylvia Ferguson's longevity?
"My genes probably. But I really don't know. My life has been just a normal life. But it just keeps getting a little bit longer," Ferguson, who turns 105 today, told iNFOnews.
Fittingly enough for such a momentous occasion, special events have been planned to celebrate that milestone, including an antique car rally, entertainment from a bagpiper, and dinner with her daughter who travelled from Vancouver.
Sylvia Ferguson at her 105th birthday party, March 20, 2021.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Bob Attfield
Spending time with her two children— or limits on doing so during the pandemic— has been a bit of a sore point for Ferguson, who says it's her main issue with life over the past year.
"My son comes and we meet outside and we talk... But they can't come in and visit with me. They used to come and stay with me. We talk on the phone a lot," Ferguson, who resides in the Hamlets At Westsyde long-term care home, said.
For many, this has been a year like no other, but Ferguson actually lived through the last global pandemic. Having been only two years old when the Spanish Flu struck, however, she doesn't remember the events of it and says 2020 certainly was a year unlike any other she's experienced.
She has plenty of other things to reflect on, however.
An antique car rally was held for Sylvia Ferguson's birthday, March 20, 2021.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Bob Attfield
Among her milestones, she was taught to swim when she was a girl by Vancouver's first official lifeguard, Joe Fortes at English Bay.
"He was so good with children," Ferguson said.
She eventually became a hairdresser and owned her own business in Vancouver before moving to Kamloops in 1965 where she raised her family, worked part-time in retail, and did volunteer work at the hospital.
After iNFOnews congratulated Ferguson and wished her many more birthdays in the years to come, she replied, laughing, "Well. Not too many."
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