100 years
Centennial celebration is 'grand' for Lillie Cox
BY PAM BRANNON Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Centenarian Lillie Cox celebrates her 100th birthday with family and friends at The Villas. Pam Brannon/Gulf Breeze News

Lillie Cox was born May 7, 1907. Her family decided it was time for a big birthday party a couple weeks ago at The Villas in Gulf Breeze, where Lillie lives. So more than 60 people came from all over the country to say "Happy 100th Birthday" to Lillie.

When you added her friends from The Villas to the party, she celebrated with more than 125 people. "It was grand," she says.

Lillie was born 100 years ago in Alabama as one of 12 children (she was #11), with eight of those making it to adulthood. But she is the 'child' left of that family. She worked actively in nursing until she was 85, when she thought it was time to retire and 'take it easy'. She has never been married, and has no children. "I never really had time to take care of somebody else," she says.

Lillie has all her own teeth, does not wear hearing aids, but can hear just about everything you say without any shouting, and walks with a walker most of the time now - just to keep balanced.

Her great-niece Marie Hershman of Gulf Breeze organized the party, with some help from other family members in tracking people down and getting some old family photos brought to the party.

Her family helps Lillie Cox, center, celebrate her centennial birthday.

Hershman comes every day to The Villas to have tea with Lillie, who lives alone in her own apartment at the assisted living residence, but eats her meals in the dining room. 'Lillie loves chicken livers and buttermilk," she said. "When I take her to her doctors, I always try to have time to swing by Kentucky Fried Chicken and we get her a box of chicken livers." Lillie does see her regular doctor, but she is on minimal medications - a multiple vitamin and a couple other prescriptions. "She doesn't suffer from any kind of serious problem, like heart problems or diabetes or anything. One time in her life she did have gall bladder surgery," Hershman recalls.

"Our goal was 100 cards for her 100th birthday," Hershman said. And we made it. Even my daughter's class helped." Her daughter is Amanda Cox, a teacher at Navarre High School, and the students sent a basketful of handmade cards to Lillie. "She sits in her room looking at them one by one, even though I don't think she still has gotten through every one," Hershman said.

Instead of gifts they had requested old family photos so they could put together an album for Lillie, and a record for the rest of the family. She said it was exciting to see old photos pop up of people from their growing up years. Hershman's father was the oldest of Lillie's siblings, and he died in 1966. "It was great to see pictures we didn't have of people like my grandma and dad and all in black and white," she said.

Lillie had relatives at the party from as far away as California and Louisiana and Texas, to as close as Pensacola and Gulf Breeze.

The last family reunion was in 1965. "We saw people we had not seen in 20 years. It was great for everyone, but Lillie will relive it over and over for a long time," Hershman said.

And Lillie does remember things to retell over and over. "One of my very favorite memories was when my mamma and I stood outside one day, when we had read that the Wright brothers were going to try to fly an airplane and it would go right over out house. We stood outside, and when they flew over, we waved and waved - and they waved right back. That is one of my favorite memories," Lillie smiles.