Hard work and dedication is the secret to a long, happy and healthy life, according to Jessie Pullan, a resident at Baytree Court who is celebrating her 107th birthday today!
Jessie Pullan was born in May 1911 - a year before the sinking of the Titanic and three years before the outbreak of the First World War. She will join a select group of living centenarians aged 107 or above which is believed to number only around 170 across the country.
Born in 1911, Jessie grew up in Whitgift, a small town in the East Riding of Yorkshire, as her father was a gardener at Whitgift Hall before serving in the First World War. She grew up with six brothers and sisters, as she was the fifth of seven children.
While she was at junior school, Jessie moved to Reedness, before moving again to Swinefleet School. She used to travel to Garthorpe regularly with a group of her friends from school, getting the bus for a day out at Garthorpe Shore before travelling back home.
In 1930, Jessie started working in Garthorpe, the village which she travelled to so regularly while at school, and it was at her new job where she would meet her future husband, William Herbert, known as 'Herb'.
They got married in 1932 when Jessie was 21 years old and settled down in Garthorpe, where they stayed for 60 years. Jessie worked in service from leaving school at the age of 16, working as a housekeeper, cleaning, cooking –all sorts of job.
She continued to work in service up until the Second World War, when she took up land work on a farm which she worked on until the war was over. She eventually worked in the farmhouse, going back to where she started doing housework.
Jessie carried on doing housework, putting in several hours a day of hard work up until the age of 67 when she decided it was time to retire. Jessie and William had one child, John, who was present at family celebrations ahead of Jessie’s 107th birthday.
When asked what her secret was to a long, happy and healthy life, Jessie said: "Hard work and dedication." Jessie has always been independent, as she loves doing things by herself and does what she wants with a smile on her face.
Even at the age of 100, Jessie did everything for herself as she lived on her own. She did the washing, ironing, cooking and of course – the housekeeping. After living on her own until the age of 102, Jessie finally decided it was time to move a care home and she now lives at Baytree Court in Scunthorpe.
Jessie Pullan
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