100 years young - Meet Violet Gordon, the superstar centenarian from Lamb’s River

She has got rhythm in her step, scripture in her soul, and a memory so sharp she can recite poems she learnt at age seven.

But believe it or not, Violet Gordon, better known as 'Sister Gordon' or 'Auntie Vie' is a centenarian. Gordon celebrated her 100th birthday on Wednesday at her Lamb's River, Westmoreland, home. She credits her milestone to her faith in God and her willingness to help others throughout her many years of life.

"I work along with a lot of people here, and I help people, and that is the chief thing why I am here today. I make myself happy and I go and I make people happy, and people respect me in my district. I work with God, and that is what I love," Gordon confidently told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Despite battling diabetes and high blood pressure, Gordon speaks with clarity and humour, moves about with minimal assistance, and lights up any room with her vibrant personality.

"I am diabetic, with high blood pressure, but I don't let it bother me, because, as you see, my book, my registration book, that's what I work by, and I work with the power of God," said Gordon, pointing out a large book in which she regularly records her updated medical information.

She also claims to be the maker of the world's best rum cream.

"I make the best Bailey's rum cream in the world, and I have been to funerals where, when the people come here, my name is known as the best Bailey's maker. It doesn't make you drunk, but it makes you feel good," Gordon said with a laugh.

"I bake the best cake, I make the best soup, and I can dance at my age," she added, briefly demonstrating a few rhythmic moves.

Born on June 25, 1925 in Lamb's River, Gordon was one of four children for parents, George Archibald Gordon and Mary Maude Buckridge-Gordon. She briefly left the area at age four and attended school in Kingston, and for a time lived with a sister in Annotto Bay, St Mary. She eventually returned to live in the community of her birth.

She has worn many hats: dressmaker, social worker, JAMAL assistant, census taker -- and proud mother of nine children (three now deceased).

Her legacy lives on through 21 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren, and nine great-great-grandchildren.

"I have done social work, and I sew. I do designing, and I do upholstery into a lot of things. I have things here that I have done with my hands, like a hassock that I did with my hands, not by a machine. I'm a professional in everything," Gordon said proudly.

A Seventh-day Adventist for the past 30 years, Gordon regularly attends the Lamb's River Seventh-day Adventist Church a few minutes' walk away from her home. Her Christianity is not limited to simple church attendance, as she makes her presence continually known through ongoing mentorship of the youth in the area.

"All those young boys out there, I raised all of them, and I teach them principles, because I was born in the colonial days where you don't just come and be around a table and stretch your hand over. I tell them, 'When you go for an interview, you're not to just go and draw a chair and sit down; wait until when the person says to have a seat,'" Gordon said.

Her daughter, Lorna Stanley, recalled a powerful moment from childhood that captured her mother's generous spirit.

"I remember one morning she had one tin of condensed milk and half a loaf of bread to feed all of us to go to school, and somebody came to the gate with a note and handed it to her. When she read it, it was from a mother who had just given birth and didn't have anything to drink to breastfeed her baby. My mother opened the condensed milk, poured half of it in a jar and sent it and half of the bread to that person although she had a house of children to feed," Stanley recalled.

"Later that day, we heard a knock at the door, and it was somebody that my mother had sold a dress for, from months ago, and that person had sent her the money. She said, 'See, I gave, and I got in return,'" Stanley added.

"It has been a great life my mother has lived. She is well-loved, well-cherished by her children and grandchildren and the people of this community, and it is a wonderful blessing to be here celebrating with her."

Now 100 and still going strong, Gordon is urging Jamaica's youth to put God first and live clean.

"My advice to the youth is that they are to obey the principles of Psalm 91, as that is a special thing for young people. I beg them and advise them to stop smoking, stop drinking, trust God, and find something to do," said Gordon.