Dothsy Rose Elliott celebrated her 90th birthday with an intimate gathering of family, friends, and well-wishers at the scenic Bella Vista Villa at The Tryall Club in Hanover last Sunday.

Interestingly, granite is the rock associated with a 90th anniversary and most would agree that hard and durable enough to withstand abrasion, able to bear significant weight, and can be polished to a brilliant finish, are all attributes that could easily be ascribed to the effervescent Elliott.

The nonagenarian, who was born on June 5, 1932 in Ballards Valley, St Elizabeth, credits her long life to the food and general tranquil atmosphere of the community. A lover of stewed peas, with pig’s tail of course, Elliott, who resided in the United States as well as the United Kingdom, expressed how happy and indeed overwhelmed she was by the occasion and questioned her son as to why all this was done for her.

Lloyd Carney, Elliott’s son, in his reply shared that his mum is selfless and has given so much to her community — by being a mother, teacher and mentor to many — that it was only fitting for them to give back to her in some way.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who was also in attendance, thanked Elliott for her contribution to building her community and wished for her a very happy birthday.