Jessie Shepherd embraces a century | Taranaki News | Local News in Taranaki

A century is long time for a lot of us to fathom, but for Inglewood woman Jessie Shepherd, it marks the length of her life.

Mrs Shepherd recently celebrated her 100th birthday, and received notes from the Queen, the prime minister and a visit from Mayor Peter Tennent in recognition of her milestone day.

Born on September 14, 1906 in Gillingham, Kent, Mrs Shepherd has a wealth of memories to commemorate her years and these have been acknowledged in a photo-board telling her 100-year-old story.

She is seen in many theatrical productions, dressed in fabulous clothing and one image shows her as Cinderella. The glass slippers seen with her in the picture were made in 1845 and are now a family heirloom.

Another shows her as a four-year-old, dressed in new clothing with shoes that she remembered hurt her feet dreadfully!

Mrs Shepherd married in 1937 and moved to Hong Kong with her husband, who was in the police force, and there are more photos dedicated to her time there.

She and her family were evacuated to Brisbane during the war and later moved to Takapuna, so many of the photos depict time spent in Australasia, where she settled indefinitely. Her husband died nine years ago and she now lives with her family in Inglewood and though a photo-board can only allow a glimpse of her life, it is evidence to years spent living life to the fullest!