Simone at 103. My extraordinary French aunt-in-law

This reproduces what I posted today at my Substack pages: https://francesalut.substack.com/p/simone-at-103

Just a short recognition of my wife's aunt SImone, 103 today and still lively, happy and alert by the sound of her voice during a bon anniversaire call from London to her French care home following her celebratory trip to a restaurant with relatives ...

 

On this day, January 30, in 1922, front pages in many countries reported the death of the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. Michael Collins chaired the opening meeting of a committee drafting the constitution of the Irish Free State, a modest first step towards independence for 26 of Ireland’s 32 counties. The World Court, created by the League of Nations, held session for the first time in The Hague.

And in the lush French département of la Sarthe, Simone Legendre drew her first breath. Today, Tata Simone - aunt to Joëlle, my wife, great-aunt to our daughters - is 103. She’ll celebrate her birthday quietly with family in a care home at Sillé-le-Guillaume but was, until only a year ago, still living alone and mostly fending for herself in her bungalow in the nearby village of Mont-Saint-Jean.

Tata Simone is a redoubtable woman. Age may have weakened her body but her mind remains alert, her memory strong and her observations sharp.

Homes for the elderly are not always be the most uplifting of institutions, even when run with the professionalism and care I have witnessed in my visits to Simone, the most recent on New Year’s Day. But she seems happy, there are occasional family outings - she was up until close to midnight at her son Alain’s home on Christmas Eve - and is certainly the liveliest of the residents I have seen.

When she reached 100, Simone was still living at home. A delightful celebration was held in a little hall in her village and she was in fine spirits, her enjoyment stretching to a glass, very possibly two, of champagne.

 

 

Centenarian and niece: Tata Simone with Joëlle