A former primary school teacher celebrated her 104th birthday today and explained how she'd managed to live such a long life.
Winnifred Kennan was given cards, presents and cake by her niece Loretta, family friend Mary and the carers at Aaron Grange Care Home in Huyton. Winnifred was born on April 20, 1918. The centenarian was raised by her mum in Southampton with her sister Irene.
The two never met their father, who fought in the First World War and did not come home. As a young girl Winnifred went to the prestigious Notre Dame Catholic College.
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Many of her former school friends went to university in an era where fewer than 3% of young people did. Winnifred also studied at a college before going into teaching. Although she became a teacher at St Charles’s Infant School, she fell in love with the profession at a special educational needs college in Liverpool.
She did not have any children and treated the pupils like they were her own. They regularly stayed at Winnifred's home and had fun by dressing up in strange clothing. The 104-year-old told the ECHO: “The children didn’t have much and didn’t get love from anybody else. We loved them and they loved us.”
Winnifred married successful businessman Tom Kennan on July 27, 1950. He ran a company which went to people’s houses and tailored their suits at their doors.
His efforts earned him a piece in the local paper that Winnifred still has in the care home. She had many pictures of her and Tom on their wedding day, where Winnifred was wearing her tailor-made dress and white tongues.
She moved to Aaron Grange Care Home in 2017 when she was 99. And one year later the Mayor of Knowsley came down to celebrate her 100th birthday in the Huyton residence. The 104-year-old has lived through two pandemics, two world wars, four different monarchs and 20 prime ministers.
Winnifred's top tip for making it to 104 is a simple one, as she told the ECHO: “If you love each other then it’s easy.”
