Family and residents gathered in Derry to celebrate Maisie Troke's 100th birthday on Thursday.
Surrounded by balloons, presents and cake, Maisie, who is better known as May, was presented with her telegram from the Queen at Ardlough Nursing Home in Drumahoe on March 12.
Born and bred in London, she raised her seven children, four girls and three boys, in the area - including Tom Troke, who sadly passed away several years ago.
Having a large family was second nature to the Derry resident , who grew up with an impressive six brothers and sisters.
The loving mother, grandmother of 14 and great-grandmother of 20, a great-great-grandmother of two, also received a congratulatory letter from the Irish President Michael D. Higgins to mark the occasion.
May met her late husband George Troke before they got married in the 1940s. George passed away in 1974, leaving May to raise their seven children.
An avid animal lover, she had a copious amount of cats and dogs through her years. Living through WWII, May and her family were forced to shelter in Chislehurst caves in Kent.
Her parents narrowly missed the V2 rocket attacks of WWII by about few minutes whilst walking towards the local Woolworths in London. Her enthusiasm for education and knowledge was reflected in much of her hard working-life.
Holding down three jobs to feed her family when they were young, she also spent time working for the British Council as a proofreader after George died, despite leaving school at 14. May also studied Latin in her sixties plus humanities at the Open University.
Her daughter, May Daniels, said she was a kind, intelligent and hardworking mother who they were all so proud of and loved dearly.
She said: "My mother was very loving to all of her children and she has always wanted to help people.
"She was just such a nice and lovely personality to be around and you could always rely on her when she was needed the most."
May's granddaughter, Faye Troke said: "My granny was so intelligent, she was like a human encyclopaedia.
"Whenever she lived in England, my daddy would phone her up and could ask her anything.
"She lived in England until 11 years ago my dad brought her over here to live as he didn’t want her going into a nursing home and looked after her for nine years before he died. She was always so caring."
