David Smith - Francine Black

David Smith may not remember many details from his life, but he is still a happy and grateful centenarian.

At 102, Smith, who resides with his niece at Tavern Avenue in St Andrew, said he hopes to live even longer.

"I would be happy to do a next year and a half, or two years. Sometimes, I feel so good but, true the age, I lose a lot of things," he said.

He is so proud of his long life, that he has mounted the birthday banner from his last birthday party over his bed. It is the first thing people see as they enter his bedroom.

He was born in Prospect, St Elizabeth, on September 25, 1906, to George and Jane Smith. He attended Giddy Hall Primary School and later became a cabinet maker and moved to Kingston.

He recalls going to live at 17 Myers Avenue, in Kingston. He made furniture for the schools around the Corporate Area, including Ardenne and Vauxhall high schools.

While in Kingston, he meet Melvina Allen from Portland and soon made her his wife. He could not remember when or where he got married but, he remembered that they shared many wonderful years together before she died some five years ago.

He is not the first centenarian in his family. Two of his sisters lived to be over 100 years old also. Of the four brothers and eight sisters that he grew up with, only one brother and one sister are still alive. Smith is the oldest of the three.

When THE STAR Life & Times asked Smith what he does now in hisfreetime, he said "the most work I do now is eat and drink," he chuckled.

However, Gwendolyn Smith, his niece told THE STAR Life & Times that he mostly stays home and despite his hearing problems, he enjoys watching television. She joked that she sometimes has to tell him to take a break from the TV.

She said she also discovered another thing her uncle enjoys - speaking Spanish. Although no one knows how he learnt the language, she said when she heard him speaking it, she got him some beginners books and he learnt a few words and phrases.

Smith demonstrated his skills for THE STAR, repeating a few phrases and their translations.

The 102-year-old attributes his long life to the care he has received from his daughter, who lives in Canada and his niece. She and a son are the only surviving children he has. He had three children before he met his wife.

"Mi daughter, who I school from she small, by myself, She treat mi very good. She is like mi modda," he said.